Percy Jackson's Betrayal: Shadow To My Light
by BlueFangirlStreak
Summary: Percy Jackson, the Former Hero of Olympus, is cast down into Tartarus after he is falsely accused of committing an unforgivable crime. When one of the most powerful wars strikes Earth, what will Percy do? Will he reluctantly fight against his family and friends or will he fight alongside them even though they betrayed him? What if he decides to abandon the people he once loved?
1. Prologue Chapter

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All rights belong to Rick Riordan. I only own the plot.**

Prologue Chapter

 **Percy's POV**

Betrayal.

I had been betrayed once before by someone I considered a close friend. Luke Castellan, the demigod son of Hermes who had welcomed me into Cabin 11 and treated me with nothing but generosity. But he had betrayed me as he attempted to take my life before leaving Camp Half-Blood to join the forces of Kronos.

But his betrayal hadn't affected me as much as the most recent one did. Luke's betrayal had shown me that becoming too attached to family and friends can end up stabbing you in the heart later at any unexpected moment. It had made me come to terms with the fact that not everyone can be trusted, no matter how well you supposedly know them. No matter how friendly they seem. No matter how much you love them.

Being betrayed by the majority of my friends and family was a completely different situation though. I could still remember their glares piercing into my soul with such intensity, as if they wanted me to vanish from existence, never to return. The simple fact of knowing that they wanted nothing to do with me began to consume my soul along with my heart. Acid had burned through my system, eating away at the remaining bits and pieces that had somehow kept my body and soul intertwined together. My inner light, my inner happiness, my purpose for living had completely flickered out, leaving me in total darkness within.

The look _she_ had given me made me wish I was never born. I couldn't live with the fact of knowing that my girlfriend hated my guts. She was the person who had captured my heart.

And I wanted it back.

But you only receive one heart when you are brought into this world. She had stolen my only heart and twisted it around in whatever way she pleased until it eventually shattered. And now I was practically heartless.

They had toyed with my emotions, pushing me to the limit until finally reaching the breaking point. I was once again carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, but this time, it had vanquished me. It had defeated the broken hero who now lay crushed beneath the weight, helpless and weak. I had failed to lift that weight off my shoulders countless of times. The simple reminder of being unloved by those I cared about only seemed to increase the weight of my burden.

I remember how a balloon of air had expanded within my chest, preventing oxygen from reaching my lungs as I struggled to breathe. Every breath was more strenuous than the last as it became more and more difficult to inhale and exhale. My stomach had become queasy, threatening to spill out its contents. The unbearable need to cry and release my pent-up emotions had overwhelmed me. Yet I had somehow managed to fight against the tears that yearned to roll down my cheeks. Fortunately, I had succeeded in holding them in.

I wouldn't give my back-stabbers the satisfaction of knowing that their betrayal had caused me anguish.

At that point, I was convinced that I didn't want to be a part of this world anymore. I had lost the will to live. I couldn't live on Earth knowing that I had failed everyone, including myself.

And then I was left with nothing. A hollow feeling of hopelessness had developed in the pit of my stomach, overwhelming my mind with self-hatred. I had become a hollow shell of my former self and was practically a walking corpse.

I was the aspect of Percy Jackson that had survived the agony of betrayal.

On that dreadful Friday morning, my entire happiness had dispersed with the vicious, hostile wind. They believed that I had killed her and unfairly accused me. They were blinded by their rage to see the truth before their eyes. They should have known that I would never lay a harmful hand on any of my friends or family, especially my beloved cousin. Everyone was aware of my fatal flaw, personal loyalty, and no matter how hard I attempt, I will never be able to betray them. In fact, all of my friends and family had always been loved dearly by me in my heart.

The pain and guilt was destroying me, ripping apart my very existence, and I knew that I had to accept this cruel punishment. However, what pains me the most is that no one defended me or tried to prove Zeus wrong. Especially Apollo, my godly cousin who could detect lies and seek out the truth. I feel so worthless, just another useless demigod that no one wants around.

The cold sensation seeped through my legs and caused me to shiver. I sat upon the cold, stone floor, rethinking my past life, anything that I could have possibly screwed up. What had I done wrong? How did I wrong them to deserve this injustice? As long as I am down here, it probably doesn't even matter anymore. Nothing is important, nothing is valuable, nothing is worth my time anymore. I had learned to accept my fate long ago, after all, everything in my life somehow always found a way to steer down a horrendous path.

The first few months down here had been agonizing, but I had grown accustomed to the dull sensation of pain. After all, the day I was banished down to this vile place was almost a century ago... Every day, the torture would grow worse and worse, but it didn't really bother or affect me as it did the first time. All around me, the only sounds that could be heard were the agonizing cries of the tortured. I didn't know if I would ever escape this treacherous pit, but it was highly unlikely, after all, I am their prisoner. Ever since the deceitful Olympians cast me down into this atrocious pit, Tartarus and Erebus have kept me around as their "play toy". For the past 98 years, I have experienced endless sessions of torture, although my body had become numb after the first year and I didn't really bother to care anymore.

The heartbreaking events of the past always come back to haunt me in my dreams each night. I can never get rid of them. They are a part of me that will never be able to cease existing.

The door of my prison cell creaked open and revealed the ugly face of my captor. Tartarus stood in front of my cell, grinning wickedly as my daily torture session was about to commence.

Tartarus then walked towards me and gripped my arm. He dragged me out of my cell as I groaned in annoyance.

I lay motionless as Tartarus dragged me into a different "room" that was composed of dark black Stygian iron, obsidian rock, and an unknown element. In other words, it was my torture chamber.

Upon arrival, Tartarus released my arm and casually strode across the torture chamber, most likely going to retrieve his special torture equipment from Erebus, the Primordial god of shadows and darkness. I remained motionless on the ground, impatiently waiting to get this boring, painless torture session over with, after all, my entire body is numb and I won't feel anything as usual. However, I did not expect what occurred next.

Tartarus appeared in front of me once again, but I was surprised when I noticed that he was empty-handed.

"Perseus, where's the fun in torturing you if I can't hear your wonderful cries of pain? I have something else in mind for you," Tartarus ominously stated with a malicious smile on his ugly face. Seriously, not even all of the makeup in this world can make this guy handsome. Wait, I'm getting off topic.

"Whatever you plan on doing to me, it won't work Tartarus!" I yelled defiantly.

"Trust me you foolish boy, it has never failed!" Tartarus countered back.

Suddenly, my vision swirled in darkness and my head erupted in pain. Memories and images flooded my mind as they seemed to slip from my grasp. One by one, my memories began to vanish and the events of my betrayal dispersed and were erased from my mind. Thalia's heartbreaking death, Zeus's rage, Poseidon's disownment of me as his son, my unfair punishment all simply... disappeared... NO I CAN'T FORGET!

 _MY NAME IS PERCY JACKSON! My name is Percy Jackson. My name is Percy... Jackson. My name is... Percy... Jackson. My... name... is... Percy... Jackson. My... name... is... Percy... My name is..._

 **Time Skip**

Waking up with a pounding head was definitely not a wonderful experience. The strange thing was that I couldn't seem to remember anything except for two specific facts:

My name is Lysias and I am the champion of Lord Tartarus and Erebus.

 **So, this is my first story here! This book can also be found on Wattpad. I hope you enjoyed and just let me know what you thought about it in the reviews. Have an awesome day! :)**

 **-BlueFangirlStreak**


	2. The Betrayal

Chapter 1: The Betrayal

 **Hestia's POV (This is before Percy was thrown into Tartarus)**

Young Perseus lost his hope. I never believed this would happen. It's impossible to imagine. But it's true. It actually happened.

When I had first met Perseus, I had sensed a hope like no other within his heart. It was the strongest and purest hope I had ever encountered in existence. He always had a positive outlook on life, even when all seemed hopeless.

A few minutes ago, the Olympians had flashed out to Camp Half-Blood due to an infuriating matter concerning Zeus. Something unforgiving had occurred that angered Zeus past his breaking point. I had no knowledge of the matter, but judging by Zeus's temper, it would not result well.

While they were gone, a great decrease of hope in Camp Half-Blood caught me by surprise. As I attempted to figure out the cause of the decrease, I was baffled to discover that Perseus was quickly losing his hope as each second passed. Out of all people, why him? I had a horrible feeling as I thought, _Was he the one that angered Zeus? No it's not possible! He may be stubborn sometimes, but he would never do such a thing to unleash Zeus's fury to such an extent._

I decided to flash to the camp in order to find out what was actually happening, but before I had the chance to leave, an evil presence washed over me. I realized that I was being watched by an unknown, sinister being as a dark, black mist appeared before me. I was paralyzed with fear until images began to develop in the mist.

A scene depicting Perseus caught my attention and sparked my curiosity. I observed attentively as Perseus seemed to be running through a forest, attempting to escape from someone. The person far behind him appeared to be Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Zeus. She had an exasperated expression upon her face as she struggled to to break the ice surrounding the lower part of her body. They appeared to be playing capture the flag as I noticed Perseus running away with the Hunters of Artemis's flag. I turned my gaze back to Thalia, observing as she finally managed to break free from her ice prison. However, I grew horrified at the upcoming scene that occurred before my eyes.

I helplessly watched as a mysterious black portal shimmered into existence behind Thalia and a dark figure emerged from it. Unfortunately, Thalia was not aware of the unknown being until it was too late. The figure unsheathed a blade darker than the night and quickly stabbed her before I even had a chance to blink. Thalia yelped in surprise and slowly lowered her gaze upon the dagger that now protruded from her stomach. As quickly as he had stabbed her, the mysterious being forcefully yanked his dagger out of Thalia's dying body and vanished in a swirl of darkness.

Thalia collapsed helplessly onto the ground, clutching her stomach in pain as her life force began to wane.

I returned my attention back to Perseus, silently watching his movements while knowing that I was not capable of informing him about Thalia's predicament. After all, my godly instincts told me that these scenes had occurred in the past.

Perseus stopped abruptly, his eyebrows creasing worriedly as I heard him murmur to himself, "Thalia would never let me win this easily."

With a hesitant look, Perseus spun around and sprinted hurriedly in the direction where Thalia was currently perishing. Upon laying his eyes on Thalia's crumpled form, Perseus cried out in disbelief.

He knelt in front of Thalia, cupping her face gently with his hands as he desperately pleaded, "Please stay with me Thals! I need to get help. Chiron! Someone! Anyone! THALIA NEEDS HELP!"

I found it very strange that no one arrived to help, as if everyone had somehow vanished. Judging by Perseus's confused expression, he was also perplexed that no one appeared. I knew that a powerful force was the cause of this strange occurrence and I had a horrible feeling that something else would soon go wrong...

"Thals, can you hear me? Please say something," Perseus cried out urgently.

At that moment, Thalia barely managed to open her eyes. Her eyes landed on Perseus and they sparkled with unshed tears.

"Percy... dark evil being... stabbed with dagger... vanished in shadows... I love you... tell everyone that I love them... goodbye Percy... don't grieve for me," Thalia whispered weakly as her electric blue eyes lost focus and her body went limp.

Perseus curled up in a fetal position, burying his face in his hands, muttering mournfully, "I could have saved you! I wasn't here to protect you!"

I heard Perseus curse himself in Greek and I instantly knew that he would never stop blaming himself for her death.

After a brief moment of silence, Perseus stood up slowly and carefully lifted Thalia's corpse onto his shoulders. He sighed heavily and began to carry the recently deceased demigod out of the camp's forest.

While inspecting the scene, I sensed the evil, powerful force dissipate. It seemed like Perseus once again returned to reality, because he was immediately surrounded by sounds of life, as if he escaped from another dimension and found his way back home. The sound of running footsteps grew closer until two of the camp's newest campers appeared. They noticed Perseus carrying a corpse and their eyes widened with disbelief.

"You...you killed her," one of the young boys said with fear in his voice as his legs shook.

"No I di-" Perseus began to say until he was interrupted by twelve blinding flashes that appeared around him as the Olympians came into view, surrounding the son of Poseidon. Most of them looked annoyed and bored, but none of them appeared as terrifying as Zeus who seethed with rage.

"PERSEUS JACKSON, YOU SHALL FEEL MY WRATH FOR MURDERING MY DAUGHTER!" Zeus thundered with all his might.

All around them, the trees swayed vigorously as a result of Zeus's fury. Campers approached from several different directions, a few glaring accusingly at Perseus, others looking very confused and curious, and some appearing very frightened at the sight of the gods.

I instantly realized that the black, smoky mist was now showing me scenes occurring in the present.

In the mist, Perseus lowered his head, as if ashamed, and quietly muttered, "I did not murder Thalia."

"Of course you did you insolent little brat! Stop lying and accept the truth!" Zeus retorted angrily.

Perseus seemed to be offended as his face turned bright red, possibly from withheld anger and grief. He stepped towards Zeus, furiously pointing his finger at the sky god.

"Do you think someone who's fatal flaw is loyalty like me would ever murder his beloved cousin?! Stop for a second, think about the matter at hand logically, and stop accusing me of something I didn't do!" Perseus managed to yell defiantly through clenched teeth.

"YOU DARE DISRESPECT ME BOY?! First you lie to me and then you disrespect me! You deserve to be punished for your crimes, especially for killing my daughter!" Zeus furiously spat out as he glared at Perseus.

"After all I've done, after enduring so much pain for your sakes, you're just going to punish me for something I didn't even do, with no evidence that I committed the crime, just like that?!" Perseus exclaimed with disbelief and rage.

Zeus kept his steely eyes focused on Perseus, remaining silent for a moment until he finally opened his mouth once again, "You were the only one near her the moment she died and I know that you don't have any evidence either to defend yourself. It doesn't matter if you claim it wasn't you! Someone must pay for what happened! Therefore, I sentence you to an eternity in Tartarus. Ares, escort Perseus to the entrance of Tartarus."

I couldn't watch this persist any longer. I knew I had to do something to stop this madness. I flashed out of the throne room of Olympus, immediately being greeted with the sight of the campers and the Olympians.

"Hestia, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" Poseidon inquired as he looked at me questioningly.

I turned my gaze towards my brother, calmly answering, "I have come here to reveal the truth concerning Thalia Grace."

"Sister, we are already aware that Perseus murdered my daughter," Zeus replied with an impatient tone.

"You don't understand Lord Zeus. I witnessed the murder of your daughter. A cloaked man appeared from a portal and stabbed your daughter to death. It was not Perseus. He only found Thalia minutes before she perished. Don't punish the boy," I pleaded with my brother.

"I sense that you are only defending him so that he doesn't have to be punished. Apollo, is she telling the truth?" Zeus questioned Apollo.

Apollo creased his eyebrows as he closed his eyes, most likely deep in concentration, until he reopened his eyes. He seemed very concerned and disappointed.

"Father, unfortunately Hestia is lying." Apollo informed Zeus with a disappointed glance in my direction.

"What? No! Something must be influencing your domain!" I desperately tried to protect Perseus.

All of a sudden, Poseidon stepped forwards, glaring directly towards his son. He seemed to ponder something in his mind until he opened his mouth.

"I, Poseidon, god of the seas, hereby disown Perseus Jackson as my son!" my brother announced.

I observed Perseus as he seemed to struggle to contain his emotions. I sensed his hope greatly diminish.

"Hestia, for lying to me, you are to be banned from Olympus for 5 years. I expected better from you sister. And Ares, escort Perseus to the entrance of Tartarus," Zeus declared with a disgusted expression upon his features.

"He is innocent!" I hollered, but everyone began to ignore me.

I helplessly watched as Ares flashed away with Perseus as tears streamed down my cheeks.

 **I hope you all enjoyed chapter one! Have a wonderful day! Don't forget to review and give me supportive tips. Thanks for being awesome! :)**

 **-BlueFangirlStreak**


	3. Tribulation in Tartarus

Chapter 2: Tribulation in Tartarus

 **Percy's POV**

I couldn't shake the horrible sensation of vertigo. I constantly kept on stumbling and losing my balance. Lord Tartarus informed me that it is possibly a repercussion from losing my memory on a very dangerous mission. He ordered me to remain in bed until I was positively sure that I could walk normally again.

Laying in bed, I deeply yearned to regain my memory that was now unrecoverable. My lord claimed that returning my memory was beyond his power, but I'm still not easily persuaded on that certain matter. I am not a fool as they might believe me to be. I will discover how to reclaim my memory, one way or another.

All I can remember is that my masters are Lord Tartarus and Erebus. A long time ago, my family abandoned me and my lords were kind enough to grant me a new home. I have a vague memory of my dad, the only one in my family who still loved and supported me. I can't recall his name or his facial features, but I do remember how the cruel sea god, Poseidon, murdered my dad for no apparent reason.

I was punished, thrown down here by the gods because... I can't remember why... but as soon as I landed here, my lords offered me a new home. I gratefully accepted the generous offer and ever since, I have been the champion of Lord Tartarus and Erebus. They renamed me Lysias so that my old name wouldn't bring back my painful memories- memories that I fortunately lost. My masters adopted me and they treated me like a true son, something that my real family couldn't even accomplish.

When I was absolutely sure that I no longer had vertigo, I sat upright in my bed. The world spun around me for a short moment, but then the whirling came to a halt. I carefully placed my feet on the ground and shakily stood up. I almost lost my balance but I managed to remain standing.

I wobbled as I began to walk towards the door of my room. I made my way out and headed in the direction of my lords' throne room. The journey towards the throne room wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be. Upon arrival, I opened the grand black doors that were woven with designs of horrifying punishments and painful suffering.

I was greeted with the sight of my adoptive fathers discussing in low whispers. I cleared my throat and observed amusingly as they abruptly stopped their conversation.

Tartarus turned his attention towards me, staring at me with his evil, coal-colored eyes. Here's the thing. Lord Tartarus is a powerful primordial, therefore, he can manifest himself in any form he desires. His current form resembles that of a regular, mortal young adult. He has cruel, black beady eyes that swirl with power and seem to tug at your essence. His hair is midnight black and is plastered all over his head in a messy heap.

At the moment, Lord Tartarus is wearing black robes that are shrouded in an eerie dark purple aura that emits power and malevolence. If you think about it, he's sort of handsome in an evil way.

Lord Erebus on the other hand has malicious black eyes that are darker than shadows. His hair is a dark black that resembles the night. He is currently wearing shadow black and crimson red robes that are surrounded by a powerful scarlet red aura.

"I see that you can finally walk properly again," Tartarus spoke in that weird bellowing voice that seemed to resonate from every direction.

I shifted uneasily from one foot to the other as I replied, "Um... yeah I guess."

Yeah, I know. I have such an amazing way with words.

"Now that you're here, we have a very important mission for you. Are you up for the task?" Erebus questioned me with a sly smile.

"You know I am," I responded with a daring smirk.

"Your mission is to trespass Camp Half-Blood, that foolish camp for demigods. You will strike fear into their puny little hearts and warn them about the upcoming war that they will lose. Then you will take any hostage you prefer. Now get going!" Tartarus ordered as he snapped his fingers and I vanished from the throne room in a whirl of darkness.

Darkness tunneled my vision and I tried not to hurl as my stomach seemed to plummet downhill at 200 miles per hour. I had no idea what form of travel this was, but I had a very strong feeling that I had traveled this way before. Hey, don't blame me. I recently just lost my memory.

I suddenly appeared on a green hill overlooking a beautiful valley where several teenagers milled around. I glanced to my right where a huge pine tree stood tall. I stared wistfully across the valley. There was a sinuous stream, acres of strawberries, and groves of trees all around the meadow.

A strange sensation filled me with joy at the sight of this camp. As quickly as I had been overwhelmed with happiness, my gut twisted wrenchingly. Something about Camp Half-Blood brought a bitter taste to my mouth. Something important had happened here, that much I could figure.

I took a cautious step forward, prepared to fulfill my mission, until a low growl close to me stopped me in my tracks. I carefully turned to my right and stared directly at a copper-scaled dragon.

I was not prepared for something like this, so I did the first thing that came to my mind. I walked up slowly to the dragon and outstretched my hand towards it. It snarled at me, but then it seemed to sniff me. It then allowed me to pet his head and granted me passage into the camp.

I smiled for once in possibly a long time and trespassed into the camp. I lifted my hoodie to cover my face and I raised my hand high above my head. The clouds above me rumbled and turned stormy gray. I summoned a black lightning bolt that struck the ground in front of me. All of the teenagers that were nearby turned in my direction. They stared at me warily and I smirked under my hoodie.

"Let's dance, shall we?" I yelled a battle cry and charged towards the nearest campers.

 **Warning:** **Any updates after this chapter will have a high possibility of being slow due to school priorities. Please don't expect immediate updates.**

 **Don't forget to leave reviews about what your thoughts were concerning this chapter. Reviews are important to me because they might give me helpful criticism that will improve my writing, give me encouragement/inspiration, etc. I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day! Love you all! :)**

 **-BlueFangirlStreak**


	4. Catastrophe in Camp Half-Blood

**Before I actually begin chapter three, I just wanted to give a shout out to my very first reviewer: PJOfangirl1218**

Chapter 3: Catastrophe in Camp Half-Blood

 **Annabeth's POV**

I was lying on my bunk in cabin six, the Athena Cabin. The last time I checked the time, it was 4:30 in the morning. I had just awoken from my usual demigod nightmares. The horrifying images from my dream still flashed clearly in my mind.

Camp Half-Blood was engulfed in a wave of flames as motionless bodies laid sprawled in every direction. I had observed so much bloodshed, a war that we would helplessly lose.

Even though I was a daughter of Athena, I couldn't formulate a plan to avoid this defeat. Not to mention, I had no clue as to what we were up against.

If we were able to prevent Gaea, the very incarnation of the earth itself, from destroying the world, then how much worse could this possibly be?

Looking back on it, maybe I shouldn't have pushed my luck that far.

My eyelids grew heavy with the feeling of restlessness. I closed my eyes, wishing for no dreams, but of course luck was not on my side.

 **~Annabeth's Dream~**

I stood amidst a familiar forest, surrounded by my fellow campers and the Olympians. With a jolt, I realized this was the scene in which Percy was banished to Tartarus. Guilt pounded heavily in my heart as I remembered my cruel actions.

The past unfolded before my eyes as I observed once again the argument between Percy and Zeus.

So much was occurring all at once around me. I watched as Lady Hestia flashed in to defend Percy, something I should've done. As Hestia, Apollo, and Zeus argued about the truth, I stared at my past self.

Past Annabeth glared daggers at Past Percy and spun around, storming angrily past the other campers.

I felt as if my heart had crawled into my throat. Even though I didn't speak a word to Percy, that's what made everything worse for him. Maybe I hadn't betrayed him with my words, but I certainly hadn't defended him either. To make matters worse, I had betrayed him with my thoughts.

It's most likely that none of the Olympians read my mind during the betrayal, but I know exactly what was going on through my head at the time.

It pains me to say that I was thinking: ' _Is that...Thalia's body? NO! It can't be! Percy would never harm her. Not to mention, they've always had a bond similar to that of siblings. But, why is he carrying her deathly pale corpse? Gods of Olympus, if Percy killed her, he will regret that he ever did! She was my adoptive sister! She meant so much to me!_ '

Unfortunately, my grief and rage had gotten the best of me. When Apollo had declared that Hestia was lying and that Percy wasn't innocent, I had believed him because he was the god of truth. I had grown furious and my anger had clouded my better judgement.

The worst part is that I had made the decision to officially end our relationship, however, I never got the chance to announce it.

When Percy was flashed away, Thalia's body was left behind for her death ceremony. We burned her body in a beautiful burial shroud made from long storm black silk and embroidered with a blue lightning bolt. Before burning her shroud, I volunteered to make a short speech in her memory.

The day after Percy's betrayal, I had regretted everything.

 _On that day following Percy's banishment to Tartarus, I was making my way towards my cabin for lights out when a strange glow coming from behind the Hades Cabin caught my attention. I glanced around, making sure I wasn't being followed, and darted quietly to the Underworld god's cabin. Upon reaching it, I glided swiftly towards the back, only to discover that Nico di Angelo was communicating with Thalia's ghost. I choked back a sob as to not reveal my presence to either of them. At that moment, I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, dreading the words that I overheard..._

 _"Thalia, what I want to know is how exactly did you die? I mean, everyone seems to be blaming Percy for your death, but I know it wasn't him," Nico questioned Thalia._

 _Thalia's ghost replied, "Yeah, you're right, it wasn't Percy. I don't know why my stupid father even blamed him. To answer your question, I was guarding the Hunter's flag, keeping an eye out for any campers, when Percy suddenly appeared. We battled for a bit until he caught me off guard and encased my legs with ice. He took the flag and ran away while I struggled to escape from my ice prison. When I managed to break free, I was stabbed by an unknown being from behind. I don't know how I could've been so dam stupid-" Thalia broke off mid-sentence with a chuckle._

 _"Sorry, inside joke. Anyway, it was my fault for not being alert and aware of my surroundings. It was too late by the time I sensed the mysterious figure. Normally, a stab wound wouldn't harm me, but the minute he stabbed me, his dagger seemed to drain my life force. I guess it was kind of like your sword, but way more powerful," Thalia said while pointing at Nico's Stygian iron sword._

 _Nico nodded to indicate that he understood and gestured for Thalia to keep on going._

 _"So, I collapsed and a few minutes later, Percy found me. I don't know why he came back, but he probably sensed that something was wrong. He tried to call for help, but no one ever appeared, which I still find strange. He also attempted to heal me, but I think it was beyond his powers. Before I died, I passed on a message to Percy. I told him to tell everyone that I love them, but I guess my arrogant father never gave him a chance to share my message. Then, I died. That's the whole story," Thalia finished talking as she glanced expectantly at Nico._

 _Nico didn't say anything for a few minutes, probably letting the entire story sink in, until he lifted his head and looked straight at Thalia._

 _"Thank you for telling me what happened Thalia. I can't hold you here any longer. I'll summon you again on some other day. Goodbye," Nico told Thalia with a small smile._

 _Thalia smiled widely at Nico and waved her hand in a goodbye gesture. Nico let go of his concentration and Thalia's ghost vanished._

 _He stood alone with his back facing in my direction, until he broke the silence and said, "I know you're there Annabeth."_

 _I was so surprised that I almost choked on my saliva. I quickly regained my composure and stepped out from my hiding spot. Immediately, he turned around and looked me straight in the eyes. I had an uneasy feeling that he was staring right into my soul._

 _"Are you happy now?"_

 _His question caught me by surprise. I was also a bit confused about what he was referring to._

 _"About what?"_

 _He began to glower at me and snapped angrily, "Don't play dumb Annabeth. You know what I'm talking about."_

 _Nico's tone made it clear that he was referring to Thalia's story._

 _"No, I'm not happy. I'm anything but happy."_

 _"How does it make you feel? How does it feel like to find out that Percy was innocent? That you betrayed him? That you didn't believe him?"_

 _"Stop! Just stop it Nico!" I pleaded as tears threatened to spill from my eyes._

 _"You think you're suffering from emotional pain? I bet your pain is nothing compared to what Percy felt. You were his girlfriend! You were supposed to be the one who he looked to for support, hope, and love! But no. You know, the world doesn't revolve around you Annabeth," Nico growled as he dissolved into a shadow._

Ever since Nico yelled at me on that Saturday night, I have grown to hate myself more and more as each day goes by.

I snapped out of my flashback and remembered that I was still dreaming. I glanced around in time to see Past Percy get flashed away with Past Ares for his punishment in Tartarus.

I tried to stifle a sob, but I failed miserably. I burst out in tears and collapsed on my hands and knees helplessly. My dream began to fade away and I expected to wake up on my bunk in the Athena Cabin.

But, a deep, male voice caught me off guard.

From every direction, his voice echoed, saying:

"Without the Fallen Angel, all is lost..."

I swiveled around apprehensively, but there was no one in sight, I was entirely alone.

Then everything went dark.

 **~End of Annabeth's Dream~**

I woke up with a gasp and began to choke uncontrollably. When I managed to stop, I noticed that my half-brother, Malcolm, was giving me a concerned look.

"What time is it Malcolm?" I asked with a hoarse voice.

He glanced at his shiny, gray watch.

"It's 7:52. We should get ready. Breakfast is about to be served."

I grabbed some clothes and went inside the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and changed into some fresh pants and an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. I stepped out of the bathroom and walked up to the door of my cabin. Just as I was about to order my half-siblings to form a single line for breakfast, a thunderous _boom!_ shook the ground.

When the ground was stable once again, I quickly yanked the cabin door open. What I didn't expect to find was a dark cloaked figure standing in the middle of a smoking crater.

All around me, I heard the sound of cabin doors opening as campers appeared in every direction. Every camper began to unsheathe a weapon and my hands searched for my dagger. I felt the familiar hilt of my dagger and I held it out in a battle stance.

I glanced at the Big House just in time to see Chiron trot down the porch steps with his bow and arrow in his hands, ready to fire.

"Let's dance, shall we?" I heard the male voice of the cloaked figure say tauntingly.

I returned my attention back to him as he yelled a battle cry and charged towards the nearest campers.

We all instinctively raised our weapons and charged as well. I smiled. There's no possible way that one man could stand a chance against an entire camp of demigod warriors.

Turns out I was wrong.

I had strongly believed that he would not be able to prevail, especially since we had surrounded him.

Instead, he disappeared when we least expected it. I quickly realized that he had shadow travelled... something only the children of Hades should be able to do.

Before I could think too much about it, a loud thump was heard from somewhere to my right.

I glanced in the direction in which the sound came from and immediately noticed a younger demigod from the Demeter Cabin, slumped on the ground, unconscious. Standing over him was the mysterious man, wielding a gleaming shadow black sword as he grinned wickedly.

He began to disarm every camper that came across his path and I observed that he was only interested in knocking them out. He moved with an unbelievable speed that made him appear as a blur. Whenever he slowed down and took a step, wisps of black smoke curled around his legs.

I didn't see how I could possibly defeat him, after all, he's knocked out the majority of the other campers. The only ones left standing besides myself were Nico, Grover, Katie, the Stolls, Leo, Clarisse, Will, Nyssa, Malcolm, Chris, Pollux, Calypso, and Chiron. Rachel Dare, the oracle of Camp Half-Blood and my friend, was nowhere to be seen.

On the other hand, Tyson, a friendly cyclops who happened to be my former boyfriend's half-brother, was currently preparing his cyclopes troops for a minor undersea battle.

"Would anyone like to be my hostage? No one? Well, then I'll just choose!" the man announced gleefully.

He disappeared in a column of black flames as each of the remaining demigods began to whirl around apprehensively, searching cautiously for the cloaked figure's whereabouts. I scanned my surroundings trying to detect any signs of him until I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun around and spotted him crouching behind the Hades Cabin.

I was about to notify the others until my instincts warned me otherwise. I struggled to decide what I was going to do when I finally settled on keeping it from them.

"Everyone listen up! I want you all to pair up and search the entire camp for that man. I don't want any of you to suddenly disappear. I'll check the male gods' cabins alone. Everyone else, choose somewhere else to look. Is that clear?"

The conscious campers began to nod their heads in agreement until Nico spoke up.

"How come you're going alone? Is there something you're keeping from us?" he asked suspiciously with an exasperated tone as he anticipated an answer.

I felt like a deer caught in the headlights, but I managed to quickly come up with an answer.

"I'm not hiding anything from you. To answer your question, there's only 15 people conscious at the moment. Everyone's going in pairs but since there's an odd number of us, I'm going alone. Besides, Chiron doesn't need a partner and I'm going to assume that you don't want me to be anywhere near you, is that right Nico?" I asked as I sent him a knowing look.

Nico glared at me, his voice almost inaudible as he growled, "Glad you're finally using that brain of yours."

I was about to retort but thought better of it as I decided to keep quiet.

"Anyway," I awkwardly said, attempting to act as if nothing happened, "let's begin to search for the threat before it's too late and he manages to escape!"

With that reminder, everyone began to disperse in pairs in several different directions until I was the only one left along with Nico.

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, he swiftly turned to my direction and faced me as he delivered a verbal warning to me, "Stay away from me and I mean it Annabeth! If you dare to ever speak or look at me again without my permission, I swear that something unfortunate might happen to a certain daughter of Athena. Consider yourself warned."

Nico glared at me menacingly as he stalked away angrily.

I stood alone in the middle of the cabins, creating a mental reminder for myself to stay as far away as possible from Nico di Angelo. I wasn't entirely afraid of him, but being around him reminded me of all of my horrible mistakes.

Suddenly remembering about the mysterious threat, I strode in the direction of the Hades Cabin, prepared to face the powerful enigma.

I silently glided toward the back of the death god's cabin, coming to a halt as I stood behind the hooded figure. He was crouching in a low position with his back facing in my direction. Unbeknownst to the mysterious man, I inched my dagger toward the back of his neck, prepared to force information out of him. The second before my dagger reached his neck, he abruptly whirled around as he grasped the dagger and forcibly yanked it out of my hand. I yelped from the sudden force of the pull and glared at the man who now held my dagger, tantalizing me as he displayed the weapon to me from an unobtainable reach.

I gritted my teeth in exasperation as I scowled at him, very irritated with the crooked smirk that he wore upon his concealed face that seemed vaguely familiar.

 _Why is his smirk so familiar?_

I mentally berated myself and shook my head in order to clear my strange thoughts.

 _He's an enemy threat. I shouldn't become easily distracted._

I grew irritated at the sight of his hood that prevented me from scrutinizing every single detail concerning his facial features. I growled softly in frustration, discovering, much to my surprise, that something about him impeded me from unleashing a full force of ire upon him. An obscure feeling of fondness and affection overwhelmed me and a barrage of unusual emotions submerged me in the depths of uncertainty. A concealed, radiant aura of dubious tenderness shrouded the unidentified man that stood before me, seeping into my heart and filling me with a gentle warmth.

The comforting warmth that emitted from him perplexed me to a great extent.

 _If he's an enemy, then why is his aura so gentle and relaxed?_

I appeared to be speechless, I couldn't produce a single word to escape from my mouth.

"Thoughtful much? Seriously, I feel a bit uncomfortable that you've been ogling me for an entire minute. That's 60 seconds in case you were wondering," the teenager mocked casually as a sarcastic smirk flashed across his face.

At his words, I felt a slight blush spread upon my cheeks at the mention of ogling. However, I grew furious when he explained that one minute was exactly 60 seconds.

"I know that! Just because I'm blonde, doesn't mean I'm simple minded!" I cried out indignantly.

He approached me with my dagger firmly clenched within his hand and roughly placed it on my neck threateningly, the playfulness slipping away as he transitioned into a serious state.

"What do you want?" I spat out angrily as I warily eyed him.

"Oh you know, the usual. I want to see your camp as it burns to ashes, I want to see the fear and despair in each and every demigod's eyes!" the cloaked man announced earnestly.

I wanted to yell furiously in his face, in fact, I wanted to do a thousand things at that moment, but my throat was currently being held at the mercy of _my_ dagger.

My face morphed into a scowl as I defiantly spat in his face. His mouth lowered into a frown as he pricked my throat with the dagger. My blood flowed from the wound and down my neck, my stomach twisting wrenchingly as I gasped at the sudden rush of pain. I began to choke on my blood and saliva, trust me, not a lovely combination, and he suddenly decided to stop shoving my dagger into my throat.

I mentally sighed in relief at the conclusion of pain and glanced apprehensively at the unknown stranger. I deeply yearned to remove the annoying hood that shrouded the upper part of his face in darkness. No longer holding back my strange desire, I instantly leaped at the hood, desperately trying to remove it. Much to my surprise, the hood didn't seem to budge in the slightest bit.

"What the Hades?" I gasped quietly under my breath in frustration.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry. Can you forgive me? Ha, yeah right!" the sarcastic adolescent taunted me.

This boy was seriously getting on my nerves.

In an exasperated tone, I screeched, "Why don't you shut up?!"

Stubbornly, he set his jaw tightly and glowered at me, apparently being at a loss for words.

A moment of tense silence passed between us for a short moment as the seconds ticked by.

His jaw suddenly loosened, his posture going slack as he surprisingly dropped my dagger onto the ground. Although I couldn't see his eyes, I got the impression that he was analyzing every small detail of my face.

His right hand hesitantly moved in the direction of my face, very slowly, as if uncertain. As his hand was about to come into contact with my cheek, I cautiously took one step backward.

"What are you doing?" I breathed out in a low whisper.

"S-something about you seems... familiar," he spoke softly as if in a trance.

My confusion distracted me for a few seconds, giving the stranger enough time to caress my cheek gently. The mild touch sent shivers throughout my body, completely filling me with a distinct warmth, a feeling I thought I would never experience again.

"Who are you?" I asked with a hint of suspicion.

He briskly removed his hand from my cheek, as if barely coming to terms with the fact that he had caressed it. I sensed a change in his aura, no longer emitting warmth and tenderness, but now releasing one undeniable emotion.

Anger.

Abruptly, the next thing my mind registered was a fist connecting with my nose, sending me tumbling to the ground in a heap. Blood began to gush out from my nose, covering my lips as the metallic taste of crimson blood penetrated my mouth. I glanced up at him from my current position on the ground, glaring at him harshly before slowly lifting myself up.

I couldn't handle it anymore. The words began to spill out uncontrollably from my mouth.

"What's wrong with you?! You just randomly trespassed into our camp and knocked almost everyone out before you suddenly started to caress my cheek! An enemy does not trespass a place just to fondle someone, claim that they seem familiar, and then harm them! That's not how it works! So why don't you just leave us alone and get the Hades out of here?!" I yelled before I managed to clamp my mouth shut.

The adolescent clenched his jaw tightly as he lifted his hand and abruptly smacked my head to the left. I felt both blood and saliva fly out from my mouth, the impact of his strike sending me reeling backwards. Despite the burning hot pain in my cheek, I returned my gaze once again upon him and glowered at him furiously.

His voice was now filled with indisputable ire as he spoke through clenched teeth, "Maybe you are right. All I am is your enemy and I definitely shouldn't be fooling around with _you_. That situation concerning your cheek was certainly just a _mistake_ and I hope you enjoy losing the forthcoming war!"

My breath hitched at the mention of an upcoming war and I couldn't stop myself from slightly gaping at him.

He noticed my expression and immediately understood what was going on.

"Oh, you don't know? Well, you see, my wonderful masters, Lord Tartarus and Erebus themselves will be attacking Olympus and both of your _precious_ demigod camps with their invincible army and there is _nothing_ any of you can do to stop them! I can't inform you of the exact time and day in which our attack will occur, but you certainly have been _warned_ of what is to come!" the mysterious man spoke ominously as he turned around and began to walk away from me.

"Wait!"

Before I could stop myself, I ran off after him and gripped his arm tightly as I caught up to him.

"What do you want? I was just about to leave! Isn't that what you want?!" he spoke roughly in an exasperated tone.

To my surprise, I was positively sure that I heard a small hint of distress in his voice, but I think it was just my imagination.

"Well, yes, but why are you doing this? What have Tartarus and Erebus ever done for you? What did we ever do to you? Speaking of which, who the heck are you?!"

I hate to admit this, but not knowing something for once was driving me crazy and really getting on my nerves.

"That's none of your business! You don't know how much my masters have done for me! They cared for me when no one else did! They offered me a home and I accepted! As to what you have done to me, the answer is _nothing_. Absolutely _nothing_ , which is why I chose to fight against the gods and their offspring, because the gods never cared enough to worry about someone like me! They ruined my life and for that they will pay!" he growled out with a tone of sincerity and anger as he attempted to free his arm from my death grip.

I refused to release his arm and gave him a stubborn, defiant look.

As he tried to pull my hand away from his arm, he yelled out in frustration, "Let me go! The last thing I need in life is a clingy girl!"

"No, you still haven't answered all of my questions and I still want to know who you are. I won't let go until you tell me!" I declared defiantly as I tightened my grip on his arm.

With an irritated sigh, he answered with obvious reluctance, "My name is Lysias. There, can I go now?"

 _Lysias? What kind of name is that?_

"I've never heard of anyone with a name as strange as yours. You better not be lying to me!"

He began to grumble under his breath about how annoying girls are when they're desperate for answers and won't release your arm.

"Well, maybe you've never known anyone with a name like Lysias, but hey, there's a first time for everything in life, am I right?" he asked casually as he carelessly shrugged.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" I groaned as I hesitantly decided to release his arm.

As soon as he felt my grip loosen, he yanked his arm away from my hand and began to rub it in order to try and regain the feeling in his arm.

"You've got a strong grip alright," he said to me as he continued to rub his possibly numb arm.

"In my defense, you were being annoying and wouldn't answer my questions," I pointed out with a smirk.

I felt so confused at that moment. We were so comfortable around each other, acting as if we had known one another for years.

I glanced at my dagger that Lysias had dropped on the ground a few minutes ago. Normally, I would've found a way to grab it when the enemy least expected it, but this situation felt completely different.

"Aren't we supposed to be trying to kill each other by now?" I asked warily as I glanced at his concealed face.

Although I couldn't see his face, a mutual understanding seemed to pass between us. We both turned our heads simultaneously in the direction of my dagger and lunged for it at the same time. We landed together in a heap and began to wrestle one another, trying desperately to reach the dagger before the other.

Lysias managed to move himself on top of me, grinning wickedly as he extended his hand toward my dagger. I roughly kicked him off of me and outstretched my hand toward my prized weapon. Just as I was about to touch it, a powerful surge of electricity coursed throughout my body as I collapsed on the ground and began to twitch convulsively. A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air and filled my ears before a hazy blur veiled my eyesight.

Thrashing around wildly, I suddenly realized that I was the one who had screamed. Different voices began to surround me in every direction as I struggled to see what was happening. I strained my ears in an attempt to hear what was being spoken, but the distinct voices constantly shifted in and out of focus.

An eruption of pain flared in my leg as I let out another scream, yet this scream was weaker, more quieter.

I felt the unbridled movement throughout my body begin to cease as my vision began to clear up.

The world slowly sharpened back into focus, the hazy veil lifting from my eyes as my eyesight once again adjusted to my surroundings. I was finally able to distinguish Chiron and the 13 conscious campers who now stood in front of me protectively.

I tried to lift myself up from the ground, but as soon as I moved, my muscles constricted painfully and my body twitched violently for a short moment.

I decided to lay motionless for a few more minutes until I deemed it safe to move again.

After impatiently waiting for five minutes, I slowly began to move my arms for the second time. A small sensation of pain coursed through my body, but the convulsing had fortunately concluded.

With much difficulty, I regained my footing, however, the second I stood up, I began to sway slightly, probably from dizziness.

"What happened?" I asked my fellow campers with a raspy voice.

As soon as I asked the question, Chiron and the campers in front of me immediately turned around to look at me.

Chiron was the first one to speak.

"My dear, you shouldn't strain yourself too much."

I brushed-off his advice and instead responded, "I'm fine Chiron. Trust me, I can handle this. But what happened?"

Instead of Chiron responding, Katie answered by saying, "We're not exactly sure Annabeth. One minute we were searching for the threat and the next we heard you scream. We all came as quickly as possible and we found you twitching on the ground. The threat was standing close to you and he warned us that if we tried anything, he would harm you even more. A certain boy ignored his warning-" Katie said as she gave a sideways glance to Travis.

"-and the threat stabbed you in the leg with your dagger. We were trying to protect you while you were in pain," Katie finished explaining to me as she remained silent once again.

"Thank you Katie," I told her gratefully as I walked toward them.

"Lysias!" I yelled out to the adolescent that stood a few feet apart from me.

I knew he had shot me with a lightning bolt, but I was wary of the amount of power he possessed.

"What do you want? The only reason why I trespassed this camp was to warn every single one of you about the upcoming war," he groaned in obvious annoyance.

A few small gasps were heard from the campers around me, but Lysias began to explain about the war once again, much to his annoyance.

"So, my masters themselves, Lord Tartarus and Erebus, along with their invincible army will be attacking Olympus and the two demigod camps. I cannot and will not inform you of the exact time and day of our attack, but it will happen, that is all I can tell you. Fear the dark lords! Fear their power!" he announced boldly as a clap of thunder was heard and a black lightning bolt struck the ground in front of us, causing us to jump back in surprise.

When I returned my attention to the place in which Lysias stood a few seconds ago, I discovered much to my irritation that he had vanished... again.

"Over here you puny demigods!" Lysias said from somewhere in the area behind me.

With one swift turn, I found myself staring at the dangerous teenager once again who now stood a few feet away from me.

I observed as he raised his hands in the air, summoning what appeared to be an orb composed of black flames. Much to my horror, once the orb increased in size, he released it in the direction of the cabins, causing them to quickly be engulfed in the powerful flames.

"NO!" a cry of misery escaped my throat as I lunged viciously at Lysias.

Catching him by surprise, I tackled him to the ground and began to throw punch after punch at his shrouded face, the pain of watching my home being attacked overwhelming me. Once he regained his senses, he caught my fist in his hand and twisted it callously.

I cried out in pain and in my moment of distraction, he threw me off of him and I went flying through the air. The next thing I knew, my back collided with a tree and I fell limply to the ground. Feeling drained of energy, I glanced weakly at Lysias, hoping that he wouldn't cause any more harm to Camp Half-Blood.

"Soon, you will all feel the true power of the dark Primordials! You will discover what true fear really feels like! Enjoy my gift of flames!" Lysias announced wickedly with a mischievous grin upon his features as he vanished in a blinding light of pure darkness. I never knew that a black light had the capability of being so blinding, but apparently it did. I momentarily glanced away and covered my eyes until the light diminished and at last came to a halt.

Once the light ceased, an overwhelming sense of drowsiness engulfed me and the last thing I recalled was collapsing to the ground along with everyone else around me.

 **Time Skip**

I woke up with a pounding head, feeling dizzy and confused. The confusion dissipated away as the memories of the earlier events flashed quickly through my mind. I looked around, noticing the completely white appearance of my surroundings, realizing immediately that I was in the camp infirmary.

Laying down in the cots all around me were my fellow campers, some still remaining unconscious while others were slightly stirring.

I let out a groan from the pain that my head was enduring, observing the infirmary until my eyes landed on Chiron.

He noticed that I was looking at him and gave me a small smile in return. I couldn't help but smile back at him as I began to steadily slip off from my cot.

Despite the concerned look that Chiron sent me, my legs reached the ground as I placed my entire weight on them. My knees buckled and I almost lost my balance, however, I leaned on my cot for support and managed to remain upright.

Once I was certain that I wouldn't collapse, I slowly made my way toward Chiron.

When I reached his side, I began to converse with him.

"Chiron, what are we going to do? Tartarus and Erebus _themselves_ will be attacking us along with an entire army!" I said worriedly, my voice full of anxiety.

A grim look passed across Chiron's face before vanishing, as he gave me an answer full of hope.

"Annabeth, my dear, we cannot simply give up. I have faith that we will prevail in this battle, we just need to have patience. All will eventually turn out for the better," Chiron told me reassuringly as he patted me softly on my shoulder.

I gave him a grateful smile to express my gratitude and stayed quiet.

"I miss Percy," I told Chiron sadly as tears flooded my eyes and the guilt of my actions submerged me within a pit of despair. Chiron sighed dejectedly when he noticed my teary eyes and responded to my statement.

"We all do Annabeth, but we cannot undo what has already been done. Come now, let's go to the Big House while we wait for the rest to awaken," Chiron said as he guided me out of the infirmary and toward the Big House. Once we reached the Big House, we entered the building and I sat tiredly on the couch, waiting patiently for the rest to arrive.

After waiting for an hour, the majority of the campers were already sitting around me, chatting absentmindedly about random topics.

Another fifteen minutes passed before Chiron decided to start the meeting.

"As most of you already know, we have an impending war on our hands against the dark primordials, Tartarus and Erebus. I am sure the gods will join us in the battle due to the involvement of the primordials. For the next few weeks, we will be having intense training sessions in order to prepare for the war. The satyrs will be working overtime in the search for new demigods in an attempt to recruit as many campers as possible. Is everything understood?" Chiron questioned everyone in the room as we all mumbled our agreements.

As everyone began to stand up and disperse in several directions, I noticed that someone in the room was missing.

Now that I think of it, he wasn't in the infirmary, was he?

After excusing myself, I quickly stood up from the couch and ran out of the Big House. I reached the infirmary and peered inside, only finding three campers that were still unconscious from the previous events.

 _No, this can't be happening!_

How did I not notice this before? He wasn't in the infirmary or the meeting. Where could he be?

I sprinted back in the direction of the Big House, running swiftly up the porch steps as I opened the door and found everyone looking at me curiously.

I sucked in a breath before revealing what I had discovered. I announced four words that brought anxiety to everyone who inhabited the room, "Leo Valdez is missing."

 _Unbeknownst to the demigods and Olympians, a certain Roman goddess knew exactly who Lysias truly was. She was aware of his original identity and knew that he happened to be a very powerful demigod._

 _She knew that Lysias was the only demigod son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson himself._

 **What did you wonderful readers think? I know it's been a long wait, but I made this chapter extra long for all of you! Please review because reading all of your reviews truly inspires me and helps me improve my writing. Here's a challenge for all of you, try and figure out who the Roman goddess is. I'll help you out, she is not mentioned in any of Rick Riordan's books. Now moving on to reviews! (I'm only doing reviews that are based on the previous chapter)**

Bluefire12er: Dang school sucks I need more.

 **First of all, awesome username! Long live the color blue! Now, thank you for that review! It warms my heart to know that someone actually likes my story and wants to read more! Thanks for reading my story! :)**

odysseys11: The story is going great. Keep up the good work.

 **Thank you so much for the support! I certainly will keep on trying to write my best for awesome people like you!**

Guest: A very very good update

 **Thanks! I didn't think my writing was that good, but thanks for giving me encouragement!**

Silverblaze16: This is really good please update

 **Were my updates really that good? Don't worry, people like you motivate me to update. I definitely don't plan on abandoning this story any time soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)**

So, even if I didn't include your review above, I just want to let you know that I really appreciate your amazing support! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have an awesome day! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	5. Confined in Captivity

**Welcome to chapter 4 my wonderful readers! I hope you enjoy and don't forget about my challenge from the previous chapter. In case you didn't read it, the challenge is to try and figure out who the unknown Roman goddess was from the preceding chapter. (She is not mentioned in any of Rick Riordan's books). You won't find out who she is until several chapters later. Enjoy reading! :)**

Chapter 4: Confined in Captivity; Perplexing Prophecies, Yay!

 **Leo's POV**

I am definitely _not_ feeling pretty hot.

Sure, I'm literally hot on the inside due to my awesome fire abilities, but today is just not my day. The last thing I remember was being in Camp Half-Blood, trying to defend my home, but then a strange powerful man kidnapped me and now I have no idea where the Hades I am. My surroundings are extremely dark and ominous. By dark I don't mean like the dark you experience at night, what I'm talking about is more like an _Am I blind?_ kind of dark.

There are a few lit torches hanging around, but they don't really help me see anything. I tried lighting up my hands to make a light source and see my surroundings, but my powers don't seem to be working.

Sitting on the ground with nothing fun to do, I was dying of boredom. I know that I'm pretty hot, but if you're going to kidnap me, can you at least give me something to play with, like a super cool remote helicopter? Is that too much to ask for?

With a huge sigh, I began to tap my fingers on the ground, my ADHD preventing me from staying still.

A long time passed before footsteps were heard in the distance, growing louder as the seconds ticked by. I wearily glanced up, trying to see the person coming closer to the area in which I was currently sitting, but the darkness didn't allow me to see the person's silhouette.

I listened until the sound of a metal grating against the ground was heard in the direction straight ahead of me.

 _Wait a second, am I in a prison cell?_

The footsteps advanced toward me until they came to a halt right in front of me.

I could barely make out the mysterious figure towering over me.

"Hello _demigod._ It's a pleasure to have you here," the man sneered cruelly.

"That's definitely not a surprise dude. Everyone always loves having Leo Valdez around. Especially the ladies," I mumbled with a goofy grin upon my handsome features.

"Shut up! You won't be joking anytime later. As soon as you find out where you are, you won't even have the ability to speak!" the mysterious man countered back impatiently.

"Where am I? Disneyland? 'Cause you sure seem like Goofy to me," I teased him as I began to snicker, attempting to see how long it would take before he tried to kill me. Not that I have a death wish or anything like that.

"You think you're so funny, don't you? Well guess what? You're in Tartarus buddy! Who's laughing now huh?" he revealed as I felt my face pale dramatically, my blood running cold.

 _Tartarus? There's no way on Earth that I'm in Tartarus. This dude is just trying to get me to shut up._

Reassuring myself calmed me down a bit, but I still felt very uneasy.

"I know you're just lying to try and make me shut up man. Well, guess what? It's not going to work," I said halfheartedly, my constant doubts clouding my mind.

"Oh, you think I'm deceiving you? Would you like to meet Lord Tartarus and Erebus themselves? Here, let me take you to my masters," he declared without waiting for an answer as he gripped my hand tightly and dragged me out of my prison cell.

At that moment, I really wanted to taunt him continuously, but my fear overtook my body and I began to yell in protest instead.

"Don't take me to them! Please! I'm sorry I offended you! I'll do anything, just please don't take me to Tartarus and Erebus!" I pleaded even though I really wanted to call him some really unpleasant names.

Can you blame me for begging? I mean seriously, if you were about to be forcefully dragged toward two powerful Primordials, what would you do? Laugh? Jump up and down in excitement? I know I'm insane sometimes, but people, I'm not that crazy!

"Sorry little man, I already made my decision. If I say you're going to see them, I mean it!" he announced, much to my disappointment.

Well, if he's taking me to them no matter what, I might as well just insult him.

"Dude, you're such a big-headed buffoon. Who raised you, a toilet? Wow, I can totally see the resemblance!" I snorted mockingly.

The next thing my mind registered was his hands wrapping tightly around my neck as I began to gasp desperately for air.

I yearned for the intake of breath, hearing my throat choking out unusual sounds.

Fortunately, he released me before I had the chance to die. I gasped and began to suck in huge amounts of oxygen into my body. When my heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace, the man once again seized my hand firmly.

I was once again being dragged on the ground, so I wasn't really going to complain. It's much better than dying anyway.

I heard the sound of doors being pushed open as my captor plucked me off the ground and flung me through the air roughly.

I landed harshly on the uneven ground as my head pounded against it. My head began to throb uncontrollably with pain as I unsteadily rose from my position on the ground.

My vision swam wildly before it finally cleared up and my eyes settled on the two powerful beings sitting on the thrones in front of me.

The dark Primordials eyed me maliciously. Never in my life had I imagined myself being in the presence of these two wicked immortals. I gulped nervously before I was literally paralyzed with fear as I was confronted by Tartarus and Erebus.

"Leo Valdez," uttered a booming, resonant voice, possibly belonging to Tartarus, as the sound of my name reverberated in every single direction around me, causing me to involuntarily flinch.

The power of Tartarus and Erebus was so immense that it literally radiated off of them in potent waves. My knees grew weak and began to tremble. Their presence made me want to crawl away and die in a hole. I tried my best not to collapse and I fortunately succeeded in staying upright.

"Lysias, you chose this scrawny _demigod_ , Leo Valdez, as your prisoner?" Tartarus questioned the guy that I'm going to assume dragged me here.

"Yes I did my lord," responded my cloaked captor.

"What do you plan on doing with this boy? What importance does he possess?" Tartarus inquired further.

 _People, I'm like right here! I can hear you! I'm not a freaking object!_

"Master, I intend to torture him in order to force information out of him. I know he will be an important asset due to the amount of people in that miserable camp who care about what happens to him," my captor informed Tartarus as he anticipated a response.

 _I heard **every** single word about your plan! Stop talking to each other as if I'm not here!_

"What are you talking about? Not a single person in camp cares about my well-being! As a matter of fact, I doubt that anyone has even noticed that I'm gone," I declared sadly.

I'm pretty sure that's true because I'm usually the last person that people notice or even care about.

"That is not true Leo Valdez. A variety of people in that _wretched_ camp care about your welfare. Even now as we speak, Annabeth Chase is worrying about your disappearance. You are exactly what we need. You will remain in our clutches as our hostage and we will use you against the forces of _Olympus_ during the War of Balance!" Tartarus bellowed triumphantly.

"The War of Balance?" I asked with utter confusion.

I'm surprised I even managed to open my mouth in the presence of Tartarus, but my confusion got the best of me.

"Yes puny _demigod_! The forces of Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, will engage in battle in order to determine the fate of the world. But the War of Balance will not just affect the Earth, it will impact the entire universe as well! The outcome of the war will alter everything as we know it!" Tartarus exclaimed in delight with an evil glint in his cruel, beady eyes.

I was in a state of shock. I couldn't believe a single word I was hearing. It was too much for my mind to take in and process. A war between Good and Evil? The outcome of the war can affect the _entire_ universe?

What if the forces of Good lose the war? What will become of Earth? This can't be happening!

"Lysias, take Leo Valdez to his prison cell! Deal with him as you deem fit!" Tartarus ordered my captor, now identified as Lysias, as he walked toward me and roughly hauled me out of the throne room.

As I was being pulled along by my _wonderful_ captor, Lysias, I couldn't help but stare at him. Before you say anything, no, I'm not weird. Okay, maybe just a little.

I examined him carefully, trying to see his shrouded face, but to no avail. Sadly, I could only see the dark clothes he was wearing. Lysias was wearing awesome black combat boots along with a black shirt and jeans.

I had this strange sensation every time I was around him. Something about Lysias made me want to respect him.

For some reason, he had an aura of warmth and kindness that shrouded him.

It was quiet during the entire trip to my lovely prison cell. By the time we arrived, I felt exhausted and I yearned for an opportunity to sleep.

I was guided into my cell by Lysias as I went inside and immediately sat down upon the ground. I waited for Lysias to leave and go to who knows where, but he hesitantly sat down in front of me.

I raised an eyebrow, even though he probably couldn't see it, and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

With obvious reluctance, Lysias questioned, "You're Leo Valdez, right?"

"No, I'm Bob the Builder!" I answered sarcastically, but with one glare from Lysias, I immediately took it back and responded, "Yeah, I'm Leo Valdez, also known as the Supersized McShizzle and Bad Boy Supreme!"

Lysias shook his head disapprovingly and muttered something about my childish antics.

"Look man, I'm just trying to have a serious conversation. You're lucky I'm not actually going to torture you," Lysias said sincerely.

"Wait, you're not? But why not? I'm your enemy, you're supposed to make me suffer or something like that! Not that I'm complaining or anything," I said nervously.

"I know, but just the mere thought of torturing someone, even if they're an enemy, haunts me. I don't know why, but I just don't like to harm other human beings, it truly pains me," Lysias revealed, much to my surprise.

I was a bit skeptical, I wasn't entirely convinced. After all, he still is my enemy, I can't be handing out my trust so easily on a silver platter.

"But, every single enemy I've met always wants to kill me. Why are you different?" I asked suspiciously.

"Even I don't know that. It just bothers me, that's all. I know my masters are eventually going to force me to murder someone, but I really don't want to," he expressed with disgust in his tone.

"Why are you telling me this? We barely know each other. Besides, I'm your hostage, remember?" I reminded Lysias.

"Well, lately I've just been feeling... lonely. I don't have any friends or people my age down here that I could share my problems to. I know I barely know you, but I just had a feeling that you were an understanding guy who would be a great friend," Lysias told me hopefully, anticipating an answer.

"I guess you might say that. I've had a great deal of unfortunate events in my life and I can definitely relate to your feeling of loneliness. I've had people in my life who have claimed to be my friends, but sometimes I ask myself if they truly are. I guess we both have something in common," I said glumly.

"Well, I'm glad I finally have someone down here that I can call my friend," Lysias said as he patted me on the back.

"I'll bring you some food, you look like you're starving," he informed me before he got up from his sitting position and exited the prison cell.

I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps until they were no longer audible. I was alone in the dark, below the earth, and in Tartarus. _Great!_ Alone with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company, I allowed my mind to ponder.

Who exactly is Lysias?

I mean, I haven't seen a single glimpse of his face throughout the entire time he has been around me.

Is he trying to hide his identity from me?

Is he a demigod?

Why is he serving Tartarus and Erebus?

Ugh, there's too many mysteries surrounding him! He's a perplexing enigma, that's for sure.

After waiting for 5 long minutes, I heard Lysias's combat boots pound against the ground as he reentered my prison cell. He was holding a gray tray with what looked like eggs with bacon. Yum!

"Here you go Leo," Lysias said as he handed me the tray.

Was that pain I heard in his tone?

"Thanks. But, what's wrong? You sound like you're in pain," I asked with concern.

"I do? Don't worry, it's nothing. I was just... remembering something unpleasant," Lysias responded in an unenthusiastic way.

"Well, okay," I replied.

I knew this was none of my concern and it was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it. Besides, I have no right to pry into other people's business.

"Lysias, I've been wondering. Are you a demigod?" I inquired curiously.

"Technically yes and no. Actually, I don't know. It's complicated. Heck, even I don't know!" he exclaimed and began to chuckle to himself.

Suddenly it hit me.

Percy Jackson was banished to Tartarus 5 years ago, the same place I'm in right now...

"Lysias, during the time you've been down here, have you heard of a demigod named Percy Jackson by any chance?" I questioned.

There was an eerie silence that accompanied my question.

I observed carefully as Lysias began to quietly mumble to himself, "How are we similar? This doesn't even make any sense!"

Lysias glanced at me before he realized that I had been listening to him.

"Uh, sorry. To be honest, I haven't seen or talked to Percy Jackson, but for some strange reason, I feel connected to him somehow. I can't explain the feeling Leo," Lysias answered truthfully.

"But, he's down here somewhere! He was banished down here to Tartarus about five years ago! How did you not find him during all that time?!" I asked with disbelief.

"Look, I'm sorry man. But it's not my fault that I don't know where he is. For your information, I'm not patrolling every single part of the Pit!" he said with a bit of annoyance.

"Percy, where are you?" I whispered softly to myself.

A grunt of pain suddenly escaped from the mouth of Lysias.

"Leo, please don't say that name around me anymore. I'm getting a migraine just from hearing it," Lysias notified me.

 _How is that even possible?!_

But, I decided to stay silent because I didn't want to cause any more trouble.

My food, long forgotten, lay motionless in front of me, beckoning me to eat it. I grabbed my fork and immediately dived into the crispy bacon. So delicious!

 _I wonder where Lysias was able to get mortal food from, especially down here in a place like Tartarus..._

"Uh, Lysias?" I asked uncertainly.

He glanced up to look at me as he questioned, "What do you need?"

"Well, um, I was just wondering where you got the food from, cause you know, we're in Tartarus," I expressed, but much to my surprise, Lysias flinched.

"Lysias, are you okay?" I questioned, feeling very concerned for Lysias's well-being.

"It's okay Leo, don't worry. It's just that I've had a really stressful day and I don't really want to talk about it. I'm sure you would understand how I feel. But if you're really curious, I acquired the food from Erebus," Lysias stated simply as he sighed and stood up.

"Well Leo, I'm going to be in my room if you need me. I know you don't know where my room is, but just holler if you need anything and I'll be sure to come. See you later Supersized McShizzle," Lysias teased as he retreated to his room.

I sat alone, reflecting upon Lysias's strange behavior.

 _What happened to him? Is he truly okay?_

My thoughts vanished as drowsiness began to overwhelm me, my eyes beginning to droop with exhaustion as I curled up on the ground and closed my eyes, concluding my first day as a prisoner in Tartarus.

But maybe being a hostage wouldn't be so bad...

* * *

 **Annabeth's POV**

"Leo Valdez is missing."

The words barely left my mouth before panic quickly arose in the Big House. Random statements were yelled out across the room, ranging from "You mean the little Latino Santa's elf?" to "The Supersized McShizzle is missing?!" to "No wonder my hair isn't on fire!"

I raised an eyebrow questioningly and wondered how something as serious as a disappearance could turn into something very strange.

Chiron stamped his hoof loudly against the floor, resulting in the cease of clamor.

I cleared my throat and calmly stated, "We must plan a search-and-rescue party for Leo Valdez. I have a horrible feeling that Lysias has something to do with his disappearance."

The Big House front door suddenly opened, revealing a young demigod from the Hecate Cabin.

"Annabeth, we can't put out the cabin fires. We've had several failed attempts. Our magic isn't powerful enough against the Tartarus Fires. What do we do? The cabins are burning to the ground!" the young girl informed me urgently.

I immediately shifted my gaze to Nico di Angelo. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that he warned me not to ever look at or talk to him again without his permission, but this is a dire situation.

"Nico, I know you warned me earlier not to talk to you again, but do you know anything about Tartarus Fires? Please, this is an emergency!" I frantically pleaded.

Nico seemed to ponder the situation until he responded, "Just this once Annabeth. The answer is yes. I overheard one of my father's conversations a few months ago and he fortunately mentioned Tartarus Fires, although I'm not sure why. He said that they can only be extinguished with the liquid from the River Styx."

Silence followed his dreadful revelation.

"Well, you're the only demigod here who can retrieve it," I pointed out.

"Annabeth, do you understand how dangerous that is?! Percy almost died when he was submerged in it!" he cried out in alarm.

At the mention of Percy's name, the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically. Everyone's mood seemed to turn sour, their expressions twisting with displeasure.

I cleared my throat to break the silence that had settled as I opened my mouth to reply, "Well, yes I'm aware of the risks, but we will require the aid of someone who can manipulate liquids. In this case, the only being who can accomplish this is Poseidon himself."

I barely managed to finish my sentence before I was interrupted by the sound of running feet.

"Annabeth! Chiron!" a voice rang out, clearly coming from outside.

The door was yanked open, revealing a very distraught Rachel Dare.

"Rachel, what's the matter my dear?" Chiron questioned with a kind tone.

"Chiron, I've been seeing very horrific visions lately. The Spirit of Delphi won't stop bothering me. I think it's trying to tell me something. What do I do?" Rachel asked with distress clearly audible in her tone.

"Maybe it's a new prophecy anxious to be revealed. Search within yourself. What must we know my dear?" Chiron inquired, observing Rachel with a patient expression.

I gazed at Rachel as she closed her eyes, green murky mist beginning to swirl around her as she concentrated. A minute passed before her eyes quickly snapped open, glowing an eerie serpent green color.

When she spoke, her voice sounded ancient and raspy, as if three snakes were talking in unison, uttering a new prophecy:

 ** _"A Fallen Angel cast down from the Terra above,_**

 ** _The Silent One guards the secret with devotion and love._**

 ** _Anarchy slowly dissipates without The Protogenos Connection,_**

 ** _Until It reunites with It's formidable parallel perfection._**

 ** _The Restrained Immortal, while in a state of memory closure,_**

 ** _Will discover that the Balance lies heavily upon His winged shoulders."_**

After she finished saying the last word, she collapsed. Fortunately, Chiron was nearby to catch her before she could reach the ground. He laid her down on the nearest couch and rejoined the demigod counselors. Everyone appeared to be too appalled to even speak.

I glanced at Chiron questioningly, but he turned his gaze away from me. He seemed to be holding back very crucial information, judging from his grim expression.

When we locked eyes again, his expression told me everything. We would privately discuss this later.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you guys, but I have no idea what the entire prophecy means. Would anyone care to interpret it?" Will Solace asked before he looked at me with anticipation.

I didn't want to admit it out loud in front of everyone, but I was just as confused as they were.

 _A Fallen Angel cast down from the Terra above. What could that possibly be referring to?! Wait a second..._

"Okay, the first line states that a fallen angel was cast down from the Terra above, right? Well, 'Terra' is Latin for 'Earth'. In this case, that means that the 'Fallen Angel' was cast down from the Earth, and lying beneath the Earth is the Underworld itself. The expression, 'cast down', makes it sound as if the 'Fallen Angel' was banished from the Earth and sent beneath it, possibly by the gods themselves..."

As soon as I concluded my interpretation of the first line, my face paled as the awful truth began to dawn upon me.

"Oh my gods, the first line is referring to... Percy Jackson," I revealed with a sense of despair.

I could literally feel the different emotions radiating off of everyone, ranging from vexation, to anger, to outrage, to disbelief, and finally to dejection.

"Everything will be alright. Please don't cry Katie," Travis murmured soothingly to Katie Gardner who had tears streaming down her face.

Travis held her in an embrace and was trying to comfort her.

In my opinion, they made such an amazing couple.

But Percy Jackson was a very touchy subject for her. The day he was banished to Tartarus, Katie had defended Percy, remaining loyal to him and standing up against anyone who truly believed that he had betrayed Camp Half-Blood and the gods. But the fact that he was suffering in Tartarus tortured Katie, who cared about the well-being of anyone she considered a friend.

Although I wanted to comfort Katie as well, I decided to continue my explanation about the prophecy.

"But I have no idea why the prophecy is referring to him as a 'Fallen Angel'. We'll focus more on that later. The second line mentions 'The Silent One', although I have never come across an immortal with that appellation in my time spent researching. I'll do my best to gather more information concerning that subject. As for the 'Secret', I do not have an explanation for that one yet either. Anarchy. Hmm... Well, that's a synonym for chaos, which might be referring to... Oh no," I explained before the harsh realization came crashing down upon me.

'Anarchy' was referring to Chaos, the creator of the universe itself.

I helplessly turned to Chiron for reassurance and comfort, but he only nodded miserably, confirming my worst fears.

"Annabeth, are you okay? What happened?" Connor Stoll asked, his usual mischievous attitude absent.

"Yes, I'm alright. But the problem is that this prophecy is much bigger than we believe. 'Anarchy' is referring to Chaos, the creator of the universe itself," I revealed to everyone, resulting in the uneasy silence that engulfed the entire room.

A fist roughly slammed against the ping pong table, startling me and causing me to jump in alarm.

"Are you kidding me?! Every time there's another prophecy, it's worse than the last! It's like the Fates are deliberately trying to get us killed! First, we have to battle against the king of the Titans himself! But _no_ , that's not satisfying enough! Then the Earth herself, Gaea, tries to destroy each and every life form in existence. Now what?! The Fates just had to involve the creator of the universe itself, didn't they?!" Clarisse ranted angrily, one vein in particular appearing as if it were attempting to break free from her neck.

"Clarisse, calm down. We all know how you feel. You're not the only one who is upset with the Fates," I said sympathetically.

Clarisse glared at me, which was not surprising at all, and proceeded to shove her hands into her pockets and stare at the ground with a deep scowl etched on her face.

"Is everyone ready to continue?" I questioned the rest of the senior counselors.

They all slowly began to nod glumly, their solemn expressions demonstrating anxiety and unease.

"Okay then, let's continue. The third line states that Anarchy, or Chaos, slowly dissipates without The Protogenos Connection. As most of us already know, the word 'Protogenoi' refers to the Primordial gods. 'Protogenos' is the singular form of 'Protogenoi', which means that the prophecy is talking about a connection regarding one Primordial god in particular. Without this vital connection regarding this specific Primordial god, Chaos will slowly begin to disperse, vanishing from existence, which I never thought was possible for the creator of the universe itself," I explained as I sensed my hope diminishing with each new discovery.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I proceeded with my interpretation, "If Chaos vanishes, then each and every one of it's creations are in danger of fading as well. Which is why we must find this Primordial god that will prevent Chaos from fading. We have no idea how much time we have to accomplish this, but we must not misuse the time we have available," I said with a serious tone, locking eyes with every single counselor, sending them a warning to not waste their time foolishly.

Once I was certain that they all understood the importance of the warning, I continued, "Now, the fourth line. 'Until It reunites with It's formidable parallel perfection.' So I'm going to assume that this is adding on to The Protogenos Connection. Chaos will stop fading when it reunites with the specific Primordial god, who is apparently formidable and the parallel perfection of Chaos itself. But this won't be very helpful in our search for the Primordial. Does anyone remember the last two lines?" I asked, my brain unsuccessful in the recollection of the final lines.

Nico, while glancing at the ground, answered my question and recited the last two lines:

 _"The Restrained Immortal, while in a state of memory closure,_

 _Will discover that the Balance lies heavily upon His winged shoulders."_

"Thank you Nico," I said gratefully, but Nico did not reply to my statement, remaining silent once again.

"The Restrained Immortal. Well, 'restrained' can either be referring to someone who is deprived of their personal liberty or kept under control. This Restrained Immortal is possibly being held hostage or being controlled by another more powerful deity. Whoever it is, they are suffering from memory closure, that is to say, they cannot recall their memories. I guess you can say they're experiencing amnesia, but who is this immortal? I've never encountered an immortal with these qualities during my exposure to the world of the Greek gods in physical and written form," I mused to myself, mentally reminding myself to keep an eye out for this Restrained Immortal.

"The final line expresses that the Restrained Immortal will discover that the Balance lies heavily upon His winged shoulders. This line has our first clues! Judging from the possessive pronoun, 'his', the final line helps us discover that the Restrained Immortal is a male who possesses wings. Thanatos and Eros are the only two male immortals who have wings. But of course, I may be incorrect due to the fact that there may be others as well that I am not aware of. Anyway, whoever the Restrained Immortal is, he will discover that the Balance, probably the balance of the universe, lies upon him, meaning that he is the determining factor of which side will win in the upcoming war. Hopefully he is on our side," I finished my interpretation, my hopeful desires and pessimistic thoughts clouding my mind.

I slowly sat down in my chair, remaining silent and not bothering to look at anyone.

From across the room, Chiron announced, "Meeting dismissed. Will, would you mind fetching Lord Poseidon? Tell him that we require his services in the extinguishment of the Tartarus fires. Everyone else may now leave, except for you Annabeth."

After the last of the counselors departed from the Big House, including Rachel who had regained consciousness during my interpretation, Chiron turned to look at me, his expression appearing tired and grim.

"Annabeth, my dear, I'm afraid there is more to the Balance of the Universe than you might think," Chiron said ominously, a stern look on his features.

"What do you mean Chiron?" I inquired, nervous about what his reply might be.

"Long before the First Great Prophecy was issued, the original Oracle of Delphi introduced the very first prophecy to the Greek world, which regarded the Balance of the Universe. The gods recorded this prophecy and decided to conceal it from the prying eyes and ears of the mortals. The upcoming war that Lysias spoke of is unfortunately known as the War of Balance, a violent war between Good and Evil that will determine the Fate of the Universe," Chiron informed me as the intensity of the information struck me, my mind spinning and my heart rate increasing rapidly.

* * *

 **Third Person Omniscient POV (Mount Olympus)**

Lady Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, notified the Twelve Olympians about the unknown threat that was attacking Camp Half-Blood. How the menace had managed to trespass into the camp, the gods weren't quite certain.

Iris had sensed that her demigod children were in danger and had observed the threat through her rainbow mist. She immediately contacted the Olympians who flashed one by one into the throne room.

"Iris, why have you called this emergency meeting?" Zeus inquired, interested in what Iris had to say.

"Lord Zeus, a threat has trespassed into Camp Half-Blood and is putting the lives of our demigod children at risk," Iris informed her king.

The throne room was in an uproar, the Olympians frantic about their children's safety when they heard the news that Iris delivered.

"SILENCE!" Zeus commanded.

The commotion immediately ceased and everyone returned their attention to Zeus.

"We all know that we cannot directly interfere in the affairs of mortals. Unfortunately, we cannot aid our demigod children. They must defend themselves," Zeus solemnly declared before he stood up from his throne.

"If we can't interfere, at least let us keep an eye out for our children," Hermes pleaded with Zeus.

Zeus contemplated the request and then responded, "Very well then. I will allow it. Iris, please conjure an Iris Message to show us the attack."

Iris obeyed her king and formed an Iris Message, demonstrating the mysterious cloaked figure knocking out the majority of the campers. As the gods observed the Iris Message, they felt a pang of guilt at the thought of not being able to aid their children.

They carefully watched as the unknown being attacked everyone until only fifteen people remained conscious, including Chiron.

They heard as the man gleefully announced, "Would anyone like to be my hostage? No one? Well, then I'll just choose!"

The threat vanished in a column of black flames, each of the conscious demigods carefully searching for his whereabouts.

Athena noticed that her daughter, Annabeth, was standing still, her gaze focused on a specific direction. Athena followed Annabeth's line of sight and discovered that the man was crouching behind the Hades Cabin.

"Everyone listen up! I want you all to pair up and search the entire camp for that man. I don't want any of you to suddenly disappear. I'll check the male gods' cabins alone. Everyone else, choose somewhere else to look. Is that clear?" Annabeth questioned her fellow campers.

Athena was confused as to why Annabeth hadn't revealed the location of the unknown man, but she decided to keep it to herself.

The campers began to nod in agreement before Nico interrupted by saying, "How come you're going alone? Is there something you're keeping from us?"

Annabeth countered his question by responding, "I'm not hiding anything from you. To answer your question, there's only 15 people conscious at the moment. Everyone's going in pairs but since there's an odd number of us, I'm going alone. Besides, Chiron doesn't need a partner and I'm going to assume that you don't want me to be anywhere near you, is that right Nico?"

Nico sent Athena's daughter a glare, silently muttering to himself, "Glad you're finally using that brain of yours."

"That was an awesome comeback!" Apollo and Hermes exclaimed in unison before glancing at each other and bursting out in laughter.

Athena on the other hand was not so cheerful. She was furious at the insult that the demigod son of Hades had uttered.

But Annabeth's reaction was completely serene.

She held her tongue, deciding to change the subject instead by saying, "Anyway, let's begin to search for the threat before it's too late and he manages to escape!"

The campers began to scatter in pairs in several different directions until only Annabeth and Nico remained. An uncomfortable minute of silence passed before Nico returned his gaze to Annabeth and delivered a verbal warning.

"Stay away from me and I mean it Annabeth! If you dare to ever speak or look at me again without my permission, I swear that something unfortunate might happen to a certain daughter of Athena. Consider yourself warned," Nico threathened before he sent her a menacing glare and stalked away angrily.

To say that Athena was furious would be an understatement.

"HOW DARE HE THREATEN MY DAUGHTER?! The son of Hades shall pay for his disrespect!" Athena screeched.

"Woah, Athena. I know she's your daughter and all, but you have to calm down. After all, revenge is never the wise thing to do," Apollo said as he placed a hesitant hand on Athena's shoulder, afraid that she would throw her anger at him.

Athena nodded with understanding and began to slowly breathe in and out in order to regain her tranquility.

Once she completely calmed down, she thanked Apollo and returned to her throne.

The gods resumed observing the events occurring at Camp Half-Blood, watching as Annabeth found the mysterious man and attempted to place her dagger behind his neck. Unfortunately, the man sensed her presence and turned around, immediately grabbing the dagger and forcibly yanking it out from Annabeth's hand.

Annabeth seemed to lose herself in her thoughts, which the unknown man noticed as he mockingly said, "Thoughtful much? Seriously, I feel a bit uncomfortable that you've been ogling me for an entire minute. That's 60 seconds in case you were wondering."

"I know that! Just because I'm blonde, doesn't mean I'm simple minded!" Annabeth cried out indignantly.

The man approached Annabeth with the dagger firmly clenched within his hand and roughly placed it on her neck threateningly.

"What do you want?" Annabeth spat out angrily as she warily eyed him.

"Oh you know, the usual. I want to see your camp as it burns to ashes, I want to see the fear and despair in each and every demigod's eyes!" the cloaked man announced earnestly.

Annabeth defiantly spat in the man's face, causing the man to frown and plunge the dagger into her throat. Annabeth began to choke on her blood and saliva before the man removed the dagger from her throat.

All of a sudden, Annabeth threw herself at the man, attempting to remove his hood, only to discover that it couldn't be removed.

Annabeth and the unknown man began to argue, resulting in the man's loss of words.

Surprisingly, the man dropped his dagger, which according to Athena was a very unwise move. The man's right hand reached out toward Annabeth's face, causing confusion among the gods.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, expressing her confusion as well.

"S-something about you seems... familiar," he spoke softly as if in a trance.

The man's right hand reached its destination and began to caress Annabeth's cheek gently.

"Who are you?" Annabeth questioned the man suspiciously.

This question caused the man to remove his hand from Annabeth's cheek, and just as suddenly, he punched her in the nose.

"What's wrong with you?! You just randomly trespassed into our camp and knocked almost everyone out before you suddenly started to caress my cheek! An enemy does not trespass a place just to fondle someone, claim that they seem familiar, and then harm them! That's not how it works! So why don't you just leave us alone and get the Hades out of here?!" Annabeth yelled before she managed to clamp her mouth shut.

The mysterious man clenched his jaw tightly as he lifted his hand and abruptly smacked her head to the left. Both blood and saliva flew out from Annabeth's mouth, the impact of his strike sending her reeling backwards.

The man's voice was now filled with indisputable ire as he spoke through clenched teeth, "Maybe you are right. All I am is your enemy and I definitely shouldn't be fooling around with you. That situation concerning your cheek was certainly just a mistake and I hope you enjoy losing the forthcoming war!"

The gods were astonished to hear this, they couldn't believe that another war was soon to arrive.

"Oh, you don't know? Well, you see, my wonderful masters, Lord Tartarus and Erebus themselves will be attacking Olympus and both of your precious demigod camps with their invincible army and there is nothing any of you can do to stop them! I can't inform you of the exact time and day in which our attack will occur, but you certainly have been warned of what is to come!" the mysterious man spoke ominously as he turned around and began to walk away from Annabeth.

With this new information, the war seemed to become familiar and drew forth a haunting memory within the gods, especially Athena.

"Wait!" Annabeth hollered before she ran off in his direction and gripped his arm tightly when she caught up to him.

"What do you want? I was just about to leave! Isn't that what you want?!" he spoke roughly in an exasperated tone.

"Well, yes, but why are you doing this? What have Tartarus and Erebus ever done for you? What did we ever do to you? Speaking of which, who the heck are you?!"

"That's none of your business! You don't know how much my masters have done for me! They cared for me when no one else did! They offered me a home and I accepted! As to what you have done to me, the answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing, which is why I chose to fight against the gods and their offspring, because the gods never cared enough to worry about someone like me! They ruined my life and for that they will pay!" he growled out with a tone of sincerity and anger as he attempted to free his arm from Annabeth's death grip.

When he couldn't release his arm, he yelled out in frustration, "Let me go! The last thing I need in life is a clingy girl!"

"That's classic!" Apollo said in between laughter before quickly shutting up when he noticed Athena's death glare.

"No, you still haven't answered all of my questions and I still want to know who you are. I won't let go until you tell me!" Annabeth declared defiantly.

With an irritated sigh, he answered with obvious reluctance, "My name is Lysias. There, can I go now?"

Athena decided to write down his name and created a mental reminder for herself to do some research on his name later.

Annabeth warned the man that he better not be lying.

He began to grumble under his breath about how annoying girls are when they're desperate for answers and won't release your arm.

"I can definitely relate to this guy!" Apollo exclaimed with another fit of laughter.

"Well, maybe you've never known anyone with a name like Lysias, but hey, there's a first time for everything in life, am I right?" Lysias asked casually as he carelessly shrugged.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Annabeth groaned as she released his arm.

"You've got a strong grip alright," he said to Annabeth as he continued to rub his possibly numb arm.

"In my defense, you were being annoying and wouldn't answer my questions," Annabeth pointed out with a smirk.

Annabeth glanced at her dagger that Lysias had dropped on the ground a few minutes ago.

"Aren't we supposed to be trying to kill each other by now?" Annabeth asked warily as she glanced at his concealed face.

As soon as she said that, they both simultaneously glanced in the direction of the dagger and lunged for it. They landed in a heap and began to wrestle one another, each attempting to grasp the dagger.

Just as Annabeth was about to reach it, Lysias released a powerful surge of electricity which struck Annabeth and caused her to collapse on the ground. She twitched convulsively and let out a bloodcurdling scream that pierced the air.

The campers quickly arrived after Annabeth had screamed and they noticed her twitching body close to the man.

Lysias immediately warned them by saying, "If you try anything, I'm going to harm her even more."

Unfortunately, Travis ignored his warning and attempted to sneak up on Lysias from behind for unknown reasons.

Sadly, this resulted in Travis receiving a gash on his cheek and Annabeth being stabbed in the leg with the dagger.

Annabeth screamed in pain once again, however, it was quieter than the first scream.

When Travis rejoined the campers, Katie scolded him harshly and Travis shrunk away from her in fear.

Annabeth began to stir from behind Chiron and the campers, who now stood in front of her protectively.

With much difficulty, Annabeth regained her footing, however, the second she stood up, she began to sway slightly, probably from dizziness.

"What happened?" she asked her fellow campers with a raspy voice.

As soon as she asked the question, Chiron and the campers in front of her immediately turned around to look at her.

Chiron was the first one to speak.

"My dear, you shouldn't strain yourself too much."

Annabeth simply responded, "I'm fine Chiron. Trust me, I can handle this. But what happened?"

Instead of Chiron responding, Katie answered by saying, "We're not exactly sure Annabeth. One minute we were searching for the threat and the next we heard you scream. We all came as quickly as possible and we found you twitching on the ground. The threat was standing close to you and he warned us that if we tried anything, he would harm you even more. A certain boy ignored his warning-" Katie said as she gave a sideways glance to Travis.

"-and the threat stabbed you in the leg with your dagger. We were trying to protect you while you were in pain," Katie finished explaining to Annabeth as she remained silent once again.

"Thank you Katie," Annabeth told her gratefully as she walked toward them.

"Lysias!" she yelled out to the adolescent that stood a few feet apart from her.

"What do you want? The only reason why I trespassed this camp was to warn every single one of you about the upcoming war," he groaned in obvious annoyance.

A few small gasps were heard from the campers around Annabeth, but Lysias began to explain about the war once again, much to his annoyance.

"So, my masters themselves, Lord Tartarus and Erebus, along with their invincible army will be attacking Olympus and the two demigod camps. I cannot and will not inform you of the exact time and day of our attack, but it will happen, that is all I can tell you. Fear the dark lords! Fear their power!" he announced boldly as a clap of thunder was heard and a black lightning bolt struck the ground in front of the demigods, causing them to jump back in surprise.

When they returned their attention to the place in which Lysias stood a few seconds ago, they discovered much to their irritation that he had vanished.

"Over here you puny demigods!" Lysias said from somewhere in the area behind Annabeth.

With one swift turn, the demigods found themselves staring at the dangerous teenager once again who now stood a few feet away from them.

Lysias raised his hands in the air, summoning what appeared to be an orb composed of black flames. Much to everyone's horror, once the orb increased in size, Lysias released it in the direction of the cabins, causing them to quickly be engulfed in the powerful flames.

"NO!" a cry of misery escaped Annabeth's throat as she lunged viciously at Lysias.

Catching him by surprise, Annabeth tackled him to the ground and began to throw punch after punch at his shrouded face, the pain of watching Camp Half-Blood being attacked overwhelming her. Once Lysias regained his senses, he caught Annabeth's fist in his hand and twisted it callously.

Annabeth cried out in pain and in her moment of distraction, Lysias threw her off of him and she went flying through the air. Her back collided with a tree and she fell limply to the ground. Feeling drained of energy, she glanced weakly at Lysias, hoping that he wouldn't cause any more harm to Camp Half-Blood.

"Soon, you will all feel the true power of the dark Primordials! You will discover what true fear really feels like! Enjoy my gift of flames!" Lysias announced wickedly with a mischievous grin upon his features as he vanished in a blinding light of pure darkness. No one ever knew that a black light had the capability of being so blinding, but apparently it did. Everyone momentarily glanced away, including the gods, and covered their eyes until the light diminished and at last came to a halt.

Once the light ceased, an overwhelming sense of drowsiness engulfed the campers and the last thing they recalled was collapsing to the ground along with everyone else around them.

The light hadn't affected the gods, but they still felt a little bit of drowsiness.

After everyone at camp had collapsed, including Chiron, Lysias flashed back into the camp. He carefully observed each camper, as if deciding something.

Suddenly, he seemed to come to a conclusion as he grabbed Leo Valdez and flashed them both away.

Hephaestus had grown worried and concerned about where Lysias had taken his son.

A few gods were trying to comfort him and the rest of the gods seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

Zeus, who had been silent the entire Iris Message, stood up from his throne, announcing to everyone present in the throne room, "We shall resume this meeting later! For now, I want Athena to gather as much information as possible."

Athena nodded in agreement and all of the gods began to flash away one by one.

 **Time Skip**

Iris had informed the Olympians that the majority of the campers had awoken and that the senior counselors were about to begin an emergency meeting.

"As most of you already know, we have an impending war on our hands against the dark primordials, Tartarus and Erebus. I am sure the gods will join us in the battle due to the involvement of the primordials. For the next few weeks, we will be having intense training sessions in order to prepare for the war. The satyrs will be working overtime in the search for new demigods in an attempt to recruit as many campers as possible. Is everything understood?" Chiron questioned everyone in the Big House as they all mumbled their agreements.

As everyone began to stand up and disperse in several directions, Annabeth seemed to come upon a horrible realization.

She quickly stood up from the couch and frantically ran out of the Big House. She reached the infirmary and peered inside, only finding three campers that were still unconscious from the previous events.

A frightening discovery seemed to dawn upon Annabeth.

She sprinted back in the direction of the Big House, running swiftly up the porch steps as she opened the door and found everyone looking at her curiously.

Annabeth sucked in a breath before revealing what she had discovered. She announced four words that brought anxiety to everyone who inhabited the Big House, "Leo Valdez is missing."

The words barely left her mouth before panic quickly arose in the Big House. Random statements were yelled out across the room, ranging from "You mean the little Latino Santa's elf?" to "The Supersized McShizzle is missing?!" to "No wonder my hair isn't on fire!"

Upon hearing these strange statements about Leo, Hephaestus mumbled to himself under his breath, "What sort of things has my son been up to at Camp Half-Blood?!"

Chiron stamped his hoof loudly against the floor, resulting in the cease of clamor.

Annabeth cleared her throat and calmly stated, "We must plan a search-and-rescue party for Leo Valdez. I have a horrible feeling that Lysias has something to do with his disappearance."

The gods were aware that she was correct, Lysias had indeed taken Leo Valdez, but they couldn't notify the demigods of this information. Besides, where would they look? Although the gods didn't want to admit it, even they didn't know where Leo had been taken.

In the Iris Message, The Big House front door suddenly opened, revealing a young demigod from the Hecate Cabin.

"Annabeth, we can't put out the cabin fires. We've had several failed attempts. Our magic isn't powerful enough against the Tartarus Fires. What do we do? The cabins are burning to the ground!" the young girl informed Annabeth urgently.

Annabeth shifted her gaze toward Nico di Angelo.

"Nico, I know you warned me earlier not to talk to you again, but do you know anything about Tartarus Fires? Please, this is an emergency!" Annabeth frantically pleaded.

Nico seemed to ponder the situation until he responded, "Just this once Annabeth. The answer is yes. I overheard one of my father's conversations a few months ago and he fortunately mentioned Tartarus Fires, although I'm not sure why. He said that they can only be extinguished with the liquid from the River Styx."

Hades, who was present in the throne room along with Hestia, grew irritated at the fact that his own son had been eavesdropping on him, but he let it slide just this once.

Silence followed Nico's dreadful revelation in the Iris Message.

"Well, you're the only demigod here who can retrieve it," Annabeth pointed out to Nico.

"Annabeth, do you understand how dangerous that is?! Percy almost died when he was submerged in it!" he cried out in alarm.

At the mention of Percy's name, the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically. Everyone's mood seemed to turn sour, their expressions twisting with displeasure.

On the other hand, in the throne room, Zeus clenched his jaw tightly, his expression turning harsh.

Annabeth cleared her throat to break the silence that had settled as she opened her mouth to reply, "Well, yes I'm aware of the risks, but we will require the aid of someone who can manipulate liquids. In this case, the only being who can accomplish this is Poseidon himself."

In the throne room, every single god and goddess turned their gaze toward Poseidon, waiting for his decision.

"If Zeus will allow it, I shall go to Camp Half-Blood and aid the demigods in the extinguishment of the Tartarus Fires," Poseidon announced before he looked at Zeus questioningly.

"I approve of this. You will be allowed to aid them when they call for you," Zeus declared after he contemplated the decision.

"Annabeth! Chiron!" a voice rang out in the Iris Message, clearly coming from the outside of the Big House.

The door was yanked open, revealing a very distraught Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Rachel, what's the matter my dear?" Chiron questioned with a kind tone.

"Chiron, I've been seeing very horrific visions lately. The Spirit of Delphi won't stop bothering me. I think it's trying to tell me something. What do I do?" Rachel asked with distress clearly audible in her tone.

"Maybe it's a new prophecy anxious to be revealed. Search within yourself. What must we know my dear?" Chiron inquired, observing Rachel with a patient expression.

Everyone focused their attention on Rachel as she closed her eyes, green murky mist beginning to swirl around her as she concentrated. A minute passed before her eyes quickly snapped open, glowing an eerie serpent green color.

When she spoke, her voice sounded ancient and raspy, as if three snakes were talking in unison, uttering a new prophecy:

 _ **"A Fallen Angel cast down from the Terra above,**_

 ** _The Silent One guards the secret with devotion and love._**

 ** _Anarchy slowly dissipates without The Protogenos Connection,_**

 ** _Until It reunites with It's formidable parallel perfection._**

 ** _The Restrained Immortal, while in a state of memory closure,_**

 _ **Will discover that the Balance lies heavily upon His winged shoulders."**_

The gods glanced at one another, the same idea within each of their thoughts. They knew that this prophecy referred to the very first prophecy uttered by the original Oracle of Delphi, the one that they had recorded and concealed from the eyes and ears of the mortals.

After Rachel finished saying the last word, she collapsed. Fortunately, Chiron was nearby to catch her before she could reach the ground. He laid her down on the nearest couch and rejoined the demigod counselors. Everyone appeared to be too appalled to even speak.

Annabeth glanced at Chiron questioningly, but he turned his gaze away from her. He seemed to be holding back very crucial information, judging from his grim expression.

The gods knew what he was holding back, after all, they were the ones who had warned him to never speak of the prophecy unless it was deemed necessary.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you guys, but I have no idea what the entire prophecy means. Would anyone care to interpret it?" Will Solace asked before he looked at Annabeth with anticipation.

Annabeth seemed to have an internal moment with herself before she formed an explanation within her mind.

"Okay, the first line states that a fallen angel was cast down from the Terra above, right? Well, 'Terra' is Latin for 'Earth'. In this case, that means that the 'Fallen Angel' was cast down from the Earth, and lying beneath the Earth is the Underworld itself. The expression, 'cast down', makes it sound as if the 'Fallen Angel' was banished from the Earth and sent beneath it, possibly by the gods themselves..."

As soon as Annabeth concluded her interpretation of the first line, her face paled as the awful truth began to dawn upon her.

"Oh my gods, the first line is referring to... Percy Jackson," Annabeth revealed with a sense of despair.

At that revelation, the gods began to yell out several different statements, most of them consisting of disbelief and outrage. On the other hand, Zeus clenched his jaw tightly and his expression became harsh, furious at the fact that Percy Jackson's name had been spoken more than once.

"Everything will be alright. Please don't cry Katie," Travis murmured soothingly to Katie Gardner who had tears streaming down her face.

Travis held her in an embrace and was trying to comfort her.

"Aw, they're so cute together! I SHIP THEM!" Aphrodite exclaimed happily with a little too much excitement.

Unlike Aphrodite, Demeter felt sympathy for her poor daughter who was currently crying her heart out.

Annabeth continued her interpretation of the prophecy, with Athena agreeing with her daughter at some points, even though the demigods could not see or hear the gods through the Iris Message.

"The final line expresses that the Restrained Immortal will discover that the Balance lies heavily upon His winged shoulders. This line has our first clues! Judging from the possessive pronoun, 'his', the final line helps us discover that the Restrained Immortal is a male who possesses wings. Thanatos and Eros are the only two male immortals who have wings. But of course, I may be incorrect due to the fact that there may be others as well that I am not aware of. Anyway, whoever the Restrained Immortal is, he will discover that the Balance, probably the balance of the universe, lies upon him, meaning that he is the determining factor of which side will win in the upcoming war. Hopefully he is on our side," Annabeth stated glumly as she concluded her explanation.

Annabeth slowly sat down in her chair, remaining silent and not bothering to look at anyone.

From across the room, Chiron announced, "Meeting dismissed. Will, would you mind fetching Lord Poseidon? Tell him that we require his services in the extinguishment of the Tartarus fires. Everyone else may now leave, except for you Annabeth."

After the last of the counselors departed from the Big House, Chiron turned to look at Annabeth, his expression appearing tired and grim.

"Annabeth, my dear, I'm afraid there is more to the Balance of the Universe than you might think," Chiron said ominously, a stern look on his features.

"What do you mean Chiron?" Annabeth inquired, nervous about what his reply might be.

"Long before the First Great Prophecy was issued, the original Oracle of Delphi introduced the very first prophecy to the Greek world, which regarded the Balance of the Universe. The gods recorded this prophecy and decided to conceal it from the prying eyes and ears of the mortals. The upcoming war that Lysias spoke of is unfortunately known as the War of Balance, a violent war between Good and Evil that will determine the Fate of the Universe," Chiron informed Annabeth.

Unfortunately, Chiron had confirmed the god's suspicions, each one of them turning their attention toward the hearth that remained motionless in the center of the throne room.

Hestia, who had been tending the flames throughout the display of the Iris Message, had stopped performing her duties and went to stand next to the throne of Hades.

Lady Iris made the Iris Message vanish into thin air as she stood up from her guest throne, departing from the throne room due to the fact that she would not be allowed to witness what was to come: the ancient ritual of the Olympians.

"Poseidon, you may now aid the demigod campers. After you finish helping them, you may rejoin us. The rest of you, IT IS TIME!" Zeus announced.

Poseidon flashed out of the throne room while the rest of the gods and goddesses formed a circle around the hearth, prepared to perform an ancient ritual that had been created long ago.

Together, each of them chanted in Ancient Greek, "Πρώτη Προφητεία του Μαντείου των Δελφών, ξεχασμένη και απέκρυψε από την ανθρωπότητα, αποκαλύπτουν τον εαυτό σας με τους Θεούς του Ολύμπου, ο πόλεμος των Balance έχει πέσει πάνω μας!" ( _First Prophecy of the Oracle of Delphi, forgotten and concealed from mankind, reveal yourself to the Gods of Olympus, the War of Balance has fallen upon us!_ )

The gods' forms glowed with divine power, their energy simultaneously joining in the same destination: the hearth.

As soon as the ancient ritual came to a conclusion, the hearth literally split in half, its hidden mechanisms allowing it to slide apart and reveal what was concealed beneath it.

Zeus stepped forward and grasped the hidden manuscript that contained the lines of the very first prophecy that was introduced to the Greek world several millennia ago.

He announced to the gods present, "The War of Balance has unfortunately arrived! Now is the time to once again obtain the lines of the Prophecy of The Balance of The Universe!"

Zeus slowly unfolded the ancient scroll, the lines of the very first prophecy glowing with a powerful golden tint.

The first two lines that Zeus caught a glimpse of unfortunately read:

 ** _Young Olympians, beware the Balance of the Universe,_**

 ** _For it's Stability is both a blessing and a curse._**

 _The unknown Roman goddess, silent as ever, quietly eavesdropped on the Olympians as she stood right outside the grand throne room doors, gaining more information about the War of Balance and guarding the undisclosed secret of Lysias's true identity. She was a forgotten minor Roman goddess. She wasn't as important or well known as the other minor Roman gods and goddesses, for example, Nemesis and Fortuna, but she definitely had several crucial secrets within her possession._

 **Thank you so much my lovely readers for reading this chapter! I really appreciate your support! I'm so proud of myself because this is the longest chapter I have ever written (so far)! Let me know what you thought about this chapter! Just reminding all of you that reviews are my motivation, they inspire me to keep on writing.**

 **Try to figure out who the unknown Roman goddess is! She will not be revealed until later chapters. So far, no one has guessed her identity yet.**

 **Now, moving on to the reviews based on the previous chapter!**

Guest: Nice update

 **Thanks! I really try my best for all of you wonderful readers! :)**

TheArrowess: Super good. It is a bit confusing is some areas but all stories are like that at some point. Keep going.

Off to shoot another arrow,

~TheArrowess

 **Thanks for understanding! I didn't know that some parts were confusing, but thanks for letting me know! I'll definitely keep on going! :)**

azhou1: Love this

 **Thank you! That really warms my heart! I'm glad you love it! You're very generous! :)**

Gold Testament: Who was the goddess, Bellona? I look forward to when the gods learn the truth about Percy's innocence, and try to bring him back to beg for his help.

 **As I told you in the private message, the goddess is not Bellona. But, I did give a major clue in this chapter that relates to her identity. If you find it, you'll definitely be able to find out who she is! I have something epic planned for the part when they discover Percy's innocence! Just keep on reading and eventually we'll get to the really exciting parts! :)**

Uncontrolled Legion: *evil grin* dark Percy, ahh he is the best. Now destroy them all! *laughs maniacally*

 **I don't want to spoil the story or anything like that, but you never know whether or not he'll stay dark the entire book...**

Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter my lovely readers! Don't forget to leave a review to help me improve my writing, give me inspiration, or share some ideas! Thanks for the support and I hope you all have a wonderful day! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	6. The Misguided Male

**Hello wonderful people! I know it's been a long time since my last update, but I was busy with school and church. I'm sorry about the delay, but I struggle to find the time to update. I'm sure you all understand. Thank you for not abandoning my story!**

Chapter 5: The Misguided Male

 **Unknown POV**

"Erebus, please, I beg you!" I pleaded with the shadow lord.

He contemplated me, pondering his decision. His face morphed into a delighted grin, meaning that this wouldn't result in a good way at all.

Erebus conjured a whip out of thin air coated with metal spikes, which seemed to be covered with a green substance, most definitely poison.

"I will grant you your wish servant, but in return, you will experience a small amount of pain. Trust me, you won't feel a thing," Erebus explained with a wicked grin visible on his features.

I glumly nodded my head in order to demonstrate that I understood. I wanted to flinch, to run away, to beg him not to inflict harm upon me, but I had to remind myself that I wasn't doing this for my own benefit. I was doing this for _him_.

I accepted what was about to happen and silently watched as Erebus flicked the whip backward and then thrust it toward me. An explosion of pain erupted on my chest, the spikes grazing through my skin and opening my flesh. I groaned in pain, attempting not to scream unless I wanted the torture to last even longer.

Erebus then proceeded to yank the whip free from my skin, the golden blood gushing from my wounds. A burning sensation spread throughout my chest, making the pain even worse.

Erebus struck me once again. Pain constantly flared all over my body. My back, my legs, my arms, my stomach were whipped, my body a disorderly mess of golden ichor.

After being whacked a repetitive amount of times, Erebus sneered at me, pushing me and causing me to lose my balance. As I laid on the ground, he began to kick me viciously, weak groans escaping from my mouth. My body was battered, an ugly pile of bones, flesh, and blood. With each kick that I received to the stomach, the air was knocked out of my lungs. I was barely able to breathe, feeling very dazed.

I was able to hear the sound of my blood rushing in my ears. My head was pounding uncontrollably. I wanted the torture to end.

When Erebus stopped kicking me, I thought the torture was over, but boy was I wrong. He gripped my hair tightly and lifted me up from the ground. My head was receiving the pain this time, his pull on my hair very strong. I was afraid that Erebus would rip my hair out of my skull. He pulled me close to him until we were face to face.

"I will not tolerate the generosity that you demonstrate to that _demigod scum_. The next time you ask for another favor from me, you'll be begging for the torture to end!"

With a menacing look, Erebus released his iron grip on my hair and I once again collapsed to the ground, clutching my head in pain. He delivered a kick to my head, causing the throbbing sensation to become worse. Erebus then proceeded to place one of his combat boots over my left arm, bringing it down swiftly before I yelped in agony. His heavy boot had crushed my left arm roughly and my bone ached, possibly broken. With one flick of his hand, Erebus sent me flying through the room and I collided with the nearest wall. The powerful impact resulted in the destruction of the wall as it came crashing down upon me. Erebus yanked me free from the enormous pile of rubble that had buried me before he electrocuted me with a shocking blast of shadow lightning, which, by the way, you do NOT want to experience.

The surge of power crawled through my skin, making my entire body convulse wildly in an unbridled manner. Most of my bones had shifted into the wrong positions and I had lost a lot of blood. I began to cough while Erebus spat on me. Through my hazy vision, I watched as Erebus produced a wicked looking dagger. He came near me before he dug the knife in my right leg. I let out a short cry of pain as I felt the dagger cutting deep through my leg. Erebus did the same thing to my other leg with the dagger before he cruelly sneered at me.

"As I promised, here is what you asked for," Erebus informed me as he snapped his fingers and a gray tray consisting of eggs and bacon appeared. **(A/N: Have you figured out who the unknown point of view belongs to?)**

He walked away from me before I did my best to drag myself toward the tray. I laid on the ground for a few minutes, trying to regain my strength. When I felt somewhat better, I slowly lifted myself from the ground. At first, I failed miserably and crumpled to the ground once again. But then I finally managed to remain upright (with much difficulty might I add).

With horrible pain coursing through my mismatched bones, I used the powers that I had in my possession and closed my external wounds. While healing myself, my bones began to shift back to their positions. The hall I was in echoed with the disturbing snaps and crunches of my bones as I yelped from the pain. When the bones in my legs began to shift, my legs became weak and I collapsed on the ground again. I decided to wait until the healing process completely finished. Once my bones were back in the correct places and my external wounds had closed, I pushed myself off of the ground and stood up for the second time.

The ichor covering my body had disappeared and I no longer looked like a messy heap of blood and flesh. Although my external wounds were gone and my bones had mended themselves, a certain internal wound was still plaguing me. The spiky whip that Erebus had tortured me with was covered with poison, so I'm pretty sure there's toxic poison flowing through my bloodstream...

With a dejected sigh, I picked up the gray tray and began my journey toward the prison cell belonging to my new friend.

Leo Valdez.

* * *

 **(If you didn't figure it out, the unknown point of view belongs to Percy/Lysias)**

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

The dark corridors echoed with the thud of my heavy boots as I reached Leo's prison cell. I stopped in front of the cell door as I yanked it open with a harsh rasping sound and walked inside. Leo was sitting on the ground, appearing to be lost in his thoughts until I handed him the tray of mortal food.

"Here you go Leo," I said as he took the tray from my hands.

"Thanks. But, what's wrong? You sound like you're in pain," Leo asked with concern.

Fear immediately struck my heart. I didn't want to tell him about the torture. At least, not yet.

"I do? Don't worry, it's nothing. I was just... remembering something unpleasant," I responded vaguely, knowing that Leo wouldn't be fooled easily.

"Well, okay," Leo replied.

It was obvious that he knew how I felt and he wouldn't force me to tell him what was wrong. At that moment, I grew to respect Leo Valdez more than I already had. He truly was a caring friend.

"Lysias, I've been wondering. Are you a demigod?" Leo inquired curiously.

"Technically yes and no. Actually, I don't know. It's complicated. Heck, even I don't know!" I exclaimed and began to chuckle to myself.

Honestly, it really was complicated, but I found it a bit amusing that I didn't know something about myself. I'll probably regret thinking that later...

"Lysias, during the time you've been down here, have you heard of a demigod named Percy Jackson by any chance?" Leo questioned suddenly.

There was an eerie silence that accompanied his question. As soon as he said the name, my head pounded viciously and my vision blurred. A connection seemed to form spiritually within me and my mind repeatedly told me one thing: I was Percy Jackson.

The problem is, I'm not him.

"How are we similar? This doesn't even make any sense!" I mumbled to myself before I realized that Leo had overheard what I said.

"Uh, sorry. To be honest, I haven't seen or talked to Percy Jackson, but for some strange reason, I feel connected to him somehow. I can't explain the feeling Leo," I answered truthfully.

"But, he's down here somewhere! He was banished down here to Tartarus about five years ago! How did you not find him during all that time?!" Leo asked with disbelief.

"Look, I'm sorry man. But it's not my fault that I don't know where he is. For your information, I'm not patrolling every single part of the Pit!" I said with a bit of annoyance.

"Percy, where are you?" Leo whispered softly to himself.

A grunt of pain escaped from my mouth as my head pounded once again, more severely than last time.

"Leo, please don't say that name around me anymore. I'm getting a migraine just from hearing it," I notified him, hoping that I wouldn't have to bear the horrible pain again.

Leo seemed to understand and switched his focus to the food I brought him. I watched as he grabbed the fork and dived into the bacon first. I waited to see if anything would happen, but he seemed to be fine. I was so thankful that Erebus hadn't tampered with the food.

Leo stopped eating for a moment and looked up at me.

"Uh, Lysias?" he asked uncertainly.

"What do you need?" I replied.

"Well, um, I was just wondering where you got the food from, cause you know, we're in Tartarus," Leo questioned, causing me to flinch involuntarily.

"Lysias, are you okay?" Leo inquired, genuinely feeling very concerned for my well-being.

I panicked.

 _What do I tell him? I don't want to tell him that I was tortured. That would only make him feel guilty for causing me to go through that just to get him some food._

"It's okay Leo, don't worry. It's just that I've had a really stressful day and I don't really want to talk about it. I'm sure you would understand how I feel. But if you're really curious, I acquired the food from Erebus," I stated simply as I sighed and stood up.

I think that answer was pretty decent. I mean, I _did_ tell him _half_ the truth.

"Well Leo, I'm going to be in my room if you need me. I know you don't know where my room is, but just holler if you need anything and I'll be sure to come. See you later Supersized McShizzle," I teased him jokingly as I retreated to my room.

I was just trying to relieve the mood and get my mind off of the incident with Lord Erebus.

Eventually, I reached my little room. It wasn't much, just a bit of furniture scattered around here and there. My bed was in the far right corner while my dresser with spare clothes inside was on my left. There was a medium sized lamp that sat on top of the dresser. It was pretty much the only light source in the entire room. There was obviously no electricity in Tartarus to power it, but a special canister that contained a never-ending stream of lightning did. It was given to me by Tartarus as a gift and I got to admit, it did come in handy.

Feeling very tired and dejected, I made my way over to my bed and threw myself carelessly onto it.

 _No one loves me._

Okay, I know I have Leo now, but he only loves me as a friend and we just met _today_. Plus, he's the only one who loves me. It's not enough.

I scowled deeply. Lord Tartarus and Erebus claimed that they loved me and that I was their adopted son, but in truth, they were only using me. Any mistake I made, whether it was minor or major, would result in a torture session. Since no one is perfect, I obviously made several mistakes, so I had a torture session at least once every week if I was lucky.

Sometimes it would go as high as five times a week.

There were so many hidden scars on my body, each one reminding me of a painful memory.

I'm glad that I found a friend who truly loves me, but I desire a different kind of love.

Family Love.

My father had been murdered by the ruthless sea god and my family had abandoned me, thinking that I had assassinated my own father.

I know I mentioned earlier that Tartarus and Erebus treated me like a true son, but that was only at the beginning. When they adopted me as their son, they had blessed me with many gifts and had given me everything I needed. I had felt loved and appreciated.

But now that I think of it, I have realized that they never told me they loved me.

Not a _single_ time!

I was blinded by the naïve thought of being loved again that I didn't even realize they were using me. Now it's too late to turn back.

Loving parents wouldn't torture their own children. They would guide them through an endless maze known as life. They would always be there to love and support their children in times of need. They would protect them from harm and show them that they truly mattered to the world.

They would be thankful for the blessing of being able to have children.

So what about me? Is there anyone out there besides Leo who loves me? Who even knows I exist?!

On the surface above, I had been rejected and thrown aside. Down below, here in Tartarus, I was tortured simply for making mistakes.

I wasn't wanted in any part of the world. Maybe I wasn't meant to be born. Maybe I wasn't meant for this world.

Is there something wrong with me? What do I have that others hate about me? Am I some sort of monster that people will dispose of right away?

I feel as if the world has turned its back on me... and it's tearing me apart. I can't wake up from this nightmare that has become my reality. I can't stop feeling as if my entire life is a made-up lie.

Where are you now father? Were you only imaginary? You're stuck in my head and I can't seem to let you go.

I am so afraid of telling Lord Tartarus and Erebus what's on my mind. I don't argue with any of their decisions, even when I know I am right and they are wrong. I tell them what they want to hear, the information that will please them. But I don't want to hold back all of the things that I want to say, that I NEED to say. I want to release the emotions and feelings that have been locked deep inside of me. I've been doing what they want, but I don't want to anymore.

I have tried to tell them no, to refuse to do their evil bidding, but fear has always stood in my way. I don't want to live in fear anymore!

Sometimes I ask myself who's a friend and who's an enemy, but it's really difficult to answer that question. Sometimes I just think everyone's the same.

Some people appear to be innocent, yet I know that they can be deceiving. Take Lord Tartarus and Erebus for instance. When I first met them, sweet words and golden promises freely spilled from their mouths, but then they quickly revealed their true colors. I shouldn't have fallen into their trap.

It was all a lie.

A burning sensation suddenly seared through my chest.

 _Oh no._

I had completely forgotten about the toxic poison from Erebus's spiky whip coursing through my bloodstream. I slipped from my bed and collapsed weakly to the ground. It was about to reach my heart.

But I wouldn't let myself die in such a foolish way.

With a shaky hand, I lifted up my right hand and placed it over the location in which my heart would be. My hand began to glow with a faint black glow. The poison was draining my powers, and my life. I used the last of my energy to extract the poison, which came out in the shape of a luminescent sphere. I then made it vanish into thin air before collapsing from exhaustion.

* * *

 **Third Person Omniscient POV (Mount Olympus)**

Zeus slowly unfolded the ancient scroll, the lines of the very first prophecy glowing with a powerful golden tint.

Once he had completely unrolled it, he cleared his throat and began to read the prophecy in a booming voice.

 _ **"Young Olympians, beware the Balance of the Universe,**_

 _ **For it's Stability is both a blessing and a curse.**_

 _ **An infamous male hero known to be gallant,**_

 _ **Will eventually unsettle the Universe's Balance.**_

 _ **An ultimate battle between Good and Evil will arise,**_

 _ **The determining factor will elect the side worthy of the prize."**_

When Zeus finished delivering the Prophecy of the Balance of the Universe to the Olympian council, he returned to his throne and waited for an interpretation from Athena. As expected, she stood up from her throne and made her way over to the center of the throne room. When all eyes were on her, she began her analysis of the prophecy.

"This prophecy was given to us when we first came into power, so we were warned by the first Oracle to beware the Balance of the Universe, which can easily be unsettled. As we heard, an infamous male hero that is known to be brave and courteous will unsettle this balance, and we know that this has already occurred. But who could this infamous hero be? Our only options are Heracles, Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, and Nico di Angelo. Heracles can immediately be eliminated because we all know that he is not a courteous man, no offense Father. On the other hand, he is a god, so it cannot be him. We will have to determine which of these four heroes is the one who has disturbed the Balance at a later time," Athena announced with a contemplative expression upon her face.

"As we discovered earlier today, Lysias revealed that a war between the forces of Olympus and the forces of the Pit is soon to arrive. Yet we do not know what the determining factor is. Apparently, it will select the victorious side of the war that is worthy of acquiring some sort of prize. As for what this prize is, I do not know yet, but I will research more about this subject," Athena informed the gods while noticing that Poseidon was trying to hold back a laugh.

Of course Poseidon would enjoy watching Athena struggle to find an answer for once in her immortal life. Being rivals, they would always try to find each other's weaknesses and flaws. This would be a perfect situation to use against Athena in the future.

Athena sent a glare in the direction of Poseidon and then returned to her throne now that she was done with her interpretation.

"Does anyone else have something to share with the council?" Zeus inquired as he glanced at each and every one of the Olympians.

Seeing that no one had anything to say, Zeus stood up from his throne and declared, "Very well then. I officially adjourn this council meeting."

He then flashed out dramatically from the throne room before the rest of the Olympians did the same thing individually. Except for one goddess in particular.

Lady Hestia quietly watched as the rest of the gods vanished from the throne room until she was entirely alone. A peaceful silence engulfed the throne room once everyone else was gone.

Hestia slipped off of her throne and silently glided toward the doors of the throne room. Once she was in front of them, she came to a stop and gracefully pushed them open.

Standing on the other side was the minor Roman goddess who happened to be well-acquainted with Lady Hestia.

"You were eavesdropping on the council meeting, weren't you my friend?" Hestia asked the minor Roman goddess playfully.

"Yes I was Lady Hestia. I had a feeling you would sense my presence," the goddess stated knowingly.

The minor Roman goddess had been friends with both the Greek and Roman aspects of the goddess of the hearth for many years.

"Indeed I did. Have you gathered any information concerning the young hero?" Hestia asked seriously, all playfulness from before gone.

"Of course I have. After all, I am the goddess of secrecy and silence," the goddess announced with assurance.

"Have you heard about the new threat by the name of Lysias?" the Roman goddess questioned as Hestia responded with a small nod.

The goddess looked around to make sure no one was listening before revealing, "He is the young hero you've been looking for. Lysias is Percy Jackson."

At that moment, Hestia burst into tears at the news she had just received. When she was able to regain her composure, she wiped away her tears and spoke up.

"He is the one who will determine the victorious side of the War of Balance, isn't he? The poor boy has already suffered too much during his lifetime, he doesn't deserve this. And I suspect that he is under the influence of Tartarus and Erebus. Those _foul_ monsters! They have changed him in order to use him to their advantage! If it's war they want, it's war they'll get!" Hestia snarled in rage.

She cared so much for Perseus that she would literally _kill_ the Primordials that had taken away his freedom. She was known to be a peaceful goddess, but when it came to the well-being of someone she cared deeply about, she would become someone you didn't want to mess with.

When Hestia calmed down a bit, her friend hugged her before telling her that she had to leave.

"Very well, thank you An-" Hestia began to say before she was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Both goddesses turned in the direction of the sound to find Hades leaning casually against a nearby tree with his arms crossed against his chest.

"How much did you hear?" Hestia was the first one to speak.

"Not much, but enough to know about Lysias's identity," Hades revealed, causing the minor Roman goddess to slightly pale.

"I'm so sorry Lady Hestia, I had no idea he was here!" the goddess apologized to her friend.

"Please, no need for formalities. Just address me as Hestia. You know we are good friends, there is no need to apologize. I hadn't sensed his presence either. But I trust him more than the other Olympians," Hestia consoled the goddess.

Hades raised an eyebrow before asking, "You do? And what makes me more trustworthy than the other gods?"

"Lord Hades, I know very well that you were the only other Olympian who disagreed with Perseus's banishment to the Pit. I have noticed that you are unlike the other vile gods who crave power and attention. You have earned my trust and respect," Hestia revealed as she bowed to Lord Hades as a sign of reverence.

Hades seemed to be left speechless at Hestia's words and struggled to give her his gratitude.

When he regained his voice, Hades said with great appreciation, "Thank you Lady Hestia. Remember that you will always have a friend in the Underworld. I swear on the River Styx that I will not reveal any information regarding Lysias under any circumstances unless given permission," Hades promised as he gave Hestia a rare smile before flashing away.

"It's been a long day my friend. You should rest. Again, I thank you for aiding me," Hestia told the Roman goddess before they hugged again and parted ways.

 **Shoutout to SGT. Frost for being the first one to correctly figure out the identity of the unknown Roman goddess! By the way, I gave away major hints to her identity in this chapter. Let me know if you think you know who she is! As always, please review and let me know your thoughts about the chapter.**

 **Moving on to reviews from the previous chapter!**

Pelaito: Love the story. Really want to know what happens next. I'm guessing the Roman goddess may be Bellona, but who knows. The story is good, but there are some points where it gets confusing, like the POV from the gods and how it talked about how Annabeth was worried and such. I felt like it would've been better if it was written as if she ran out in fear of something, or she ran out quickly for some reason, but that's just my opinion. There is a part where it says "me" instead of "Annabeth". Beside that, everything looks good.

 **Thanks for the advice! I used your suggestions and changed the errors from the previous chapter. Sorry for all the confusion. As you just read, the Roman goddess is not Bellona. I hope you figure out her identity. Thanks for the support! :)**

Gold Testament: Wait until Poseidon finds out that his son bears hatred for Poseidon for killing his father.

 **Well, I can't wait to write that part! It's definitely not going to be a fun reunion...**

MysticChaos: Absolutely love this story and it is not an absolute cop out on the success of other fanfictions, such as the three assassin's of the big three etc. I'm honestly sad thought the best fanficton on percy jackson so far to me is Erin Effigy, Sine of None. You should really look at it if you want too! Very interesting! I look forward to seeing this story play out.

 **Thanks! I think I'll definitely check out that book! Thanks for supporting my story! :)**

azhou1: Please please please continue!

 **Don't worry, I will! Thanks for the motivation!**

BOSS: Very nice keep it up.

 **Thank you! I sure will! :)**

TheArchitect68: Could the goddess be Eris? Also really good chapter! keep up with this story.

 **As you found out in this chapter, the Roman goddess's name does not start with an e. I'm sure you'll figure it out though! I'll be sure not to abandon this story. Thank you for supporting my book!**

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day my lovely readers!

-BlueFangirlStreak


	7. Sorrowful Suffering

**Hope you enjoy my lovely readers!**

Chapter 6: Sorrowful Suffering

 **Annabeth's POV**

Blackjack and Mrs. O'Leary were extremely out of control.

Ever since Percy was banished to Tartarus, his companions had grown reckless and wouldn't allow anyone to come near them, except for Katie. Maybe it was because she was a daughter of Demeter, or maybe it was because she hadn't betrayed Percy, but whatever the reason, she had become the only person they trusted.

The first and last time I tried to feed them, I received a kick to the stomach. Let's just say I do NOT want to experience that again. I had spent half of that week in the infirmary trying to recover from a few rib fractures. Trust me, every breath I took brought me excruciating pain.

But even though Blackjack had kicked me, I know I completely deserved that. I don't blame him.

Poor Blackjack and Mrs. O'Leary had to suffer from the loss of their loving owner. Not to mention that this was the second time Mrs. O'Leary lost her owner.

Tyson was a completely different story. Percy had once told me that Tyson thought I was the coolest thing that existed since peanut butter. But the lovable cyclops was heartbroken when he found out that his brother had been banished from the surface. I couldn't bear to watch the tears spill from his massive baby-brown eye. He didn't deserve to suffer like that. He had received a brother after all those years of asking for a friend, only to lose him a couple of years later. Tyson no longer visited the camp. It was just an unpleasant reminder for him.

After learning about Percy's punishment, Camp Jupiter cut all their ties with the Greek gods and demigods. They wanted nothing to do with the people who betrayed their hero. Even Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Frank left us behind to live in Camp Jupiter, disappointed with our actions. Leo was the only one who stayed in Camp Half-Blood, but only because of Calypso, Bunker Nine, and Festus. He generally tried to avoid his siblings and the campers though. On rare occasions, he would team up with the Stoll brothers and prank a bunch of random cabins.

You never knew where they were going to strike next.

My cabin was one of their victims last week before Lysias's attack.

The cabin was infested with so many spiders that we literally almost burned down the Athena Cabin. Fortunately our mom came to the rescue and exterminated all of the creepy arachnids. I couldn't sleep that night because of the nightmares.

Anyway, Percy's birthday is going to be in three weeks, but there's nothing to be festive about that day. Not to mention it was also the day we started dating.

I regret _everything._ I even regret existing.

But I can't change the past. What was done cannot be undone.

If Percy somehow manages to escape the evil Pit, he'll be devastated at what he discovers.

What Zeus did was unforgivable.

But no one had the courage to stand up to him.

* * *

 **Jason's POV**

Percy Jackson.

Now that's a demigod who has suffered more than anyone else.

I honestly miss him, he had a great personality and a loving heart. But why would the Greeks blame someone as loyal as him?

I expected better from Annabeth. Who knew she could be so heartless. I had grown to respect her during the time I knew her, but what she did destroyed our friendship. Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank felt the same way.

Camp Jupiter made the decision that we will not fight for the Greeks ever again unless our safety is at risk.

When we found out what the Greeks did to our beloved hero, we cut all ties with them. There's no longer any communication between our camps.

The only people from Camp Half-Blood that are allowed to enter Camp Jupiter are Nico, Katie, Tyson, and Rachel.

In fact, Nico was the one who had informed us of Percy's banishment to Tartarus. Poor Percy had already been to Tartarus once, not to mention he had fallen for the girlfriend who betrayed him, but this time he was doomed to inhabit the Pit for a second time. But this time was different. This time, he was condemned to dwell in Tartarus for _eternity_.

I just hope he's okay.

It's annoying how everyone in Camp Half-Blood plays so innocent, as if they had nothing to do with Percy's banishment. They act as if he never existed.

So much for being his friends.

True friends would never betray their friends. They would defend them, support them, and love them.

It's not the same without Percy around. The times we had together before Percy was exiled were honestly the best.

I just hope I get the opportunity to see the son of Poseidon one last time.

* * *

 **Hestia's POV**

Zeus doesn't deserve to be the King of the Gods.

I first realized that the day he actually became king. But no one listened to me.

The five year punishment he sentenced me to concluded about a month ago. Basically, my _brother_ revoked my status as a goddess. So, he made me a mortal for about five years. Honestly, my life was so much better without _His Annoying Majesty_ around all the time.

Being a mortal didn't exactly bother me, so it didn't really feel like a punishment to me at all. In fact, it was more of a blessing.

But during the first week of my experience as a mortal, Zeus did something that Percy will _never_ forgive him for if he ever finds out.

Before I could think too much about it, I found myself slipping back into the past.

 _It was my first week as a mortal. I was attempting to grow accustomed to mortal life within New York City. It wasn't as bad as I first thought, but New York City was always loud and busy._

 _On that particular Monday morning, I was informed by Angerona, my dear friend, about a gathering of the Olympians taking place outside of the home of Sally Jackson-Blofis._

 _I was confused as to why they would gather there, so I decided to investigate for myself._

 _I wasn't far from Sally's home, so I traveled to her apartment by walking._

 _About five minutes later, I had arrived._

 _But not a single god or goddess was in sight. So I figured they had probably gone inside of Sally's home._

 _I made my way up to her apartment and knocked on her door. About five seconds passed before someone opened the door._

 _That someone appeared to be Poseidon._

 _But something was wrong. I could tell just by looking at the tears spilling down Poseidon's face. He looked so grief-stricken and horrified._

 _"What are you doing here Hestia? Weren't you banned from Olympus?" Poseidon asked half-heartedly._

 _"Yes I was brother, but no one ever said I couldn't visit Sally Jackson," I replied before Poseidon accepted my answer and allowed me to enter the humble abode._

 _As soon as I walked inside, everyone's eyes turned to me, which I have to admit was creepy and uncomfortable._

 _"Poseidon, why did you let Hestia in?" Zeus demanded with a look of rage._

 _"Well,_ brother _, the only place you banned her from was Olympus, not the apartment of my former lover," Poseidon retaliated while clenching his teeth in anger._

 _Both Zeus and Poseidon appeared to have a silent showdown as they intensely glared at each other. The showdown probably would've lasted for a while longer if it weren't for Athena's interruption._

 _She cleared her throat and the furious brothers stopped glaring and generally tried to ignore one another by looking elsewhere._

 _At that moment, I had barely noticed that there were several demigods from Camp Half-Blood in the apartment. They were all standing on one side while the Olympians were standing in the other._

 _"What's going on here?" I asked suspiciously._

 _"Well, my Father has made the decision to murder the mother and step-father of Perseus Jackson," Artemis replied solemnly with a blank expression._

 _"Are you insane Zeus?! What did the mortals do to deserve this injustice?" I asked with disbelief and outrage._

 _"Hestia, you know very well what that unworthy demigod did to my daughter! If he took her away from me, then I will repay the favor by taking away someone he loves!" Zeus boomed with clear anger as he stormed off in the direction of Sally and Paul's bedroom._

 _"DON'T DO THIS ZEUS! He was not the one who murdered your daughter!" I cried out before I ran after him._

 _Before Zeus could turn around, I had leaped on top of his back, causing him to collapse from the extra weight. Zeus struggled under me as I desperately tried to protect the innocent parents of Perseus Jackson. Unfortunately, Zeus ordered Ares to get me off of him. Since I no longer had my godly strength, Ares roughly yanked me off from Zeus's back and held me back as Zeus regained his composure._

 _Zeus acted as if nothing happened and walked into Sally and Paul's room._

 _Ares, being the jerk he is, pushed me into the room to force me to watch the cruel execution. I felt so weak and helpless just standing there while being forced to watch something I knew I didn't have the strength to prevent._

 _Poor Sally and Paul were nervously standing in one corner of their room, probably confused as to why the gods decided to pay them a visit._

 _"I want you to stand right here where everyone can see you!" Zeus ordered the innocent mortals._

 _Paul, being a mortal who knew he couldn't take on a god, obeyed Zeus and went to stand in the center of the room. But Sally was entirely the opposite._

 _"No."_

 _In my opinion, Sally Jackson was the bravest mortal who ever lived. After all, she was known for her rebellious streak._

 _"Did you just say no to the king of the gods?!" Zeus demanded as he clenched his fists tightly._

 _"Yes I did. I'm not going to obey the god who banished my son for something he didn't do!" Sally argued with a fiery look in her eyes._

 _I immediately knew she was not going to back down, even if she was going to be executed by Zeus._

 _Sally is normally known as a woman who has never raised her voice to anyone and is generally a loving, sweet person._ _But the only reason why she had actually raised her voice for once was because her son had been taken away from her by the god who was trying to command her to do something she didn't want to do._

 _But at that moment, everything went downhill._

 _Zeus, looking like a very red tomato, grasped his lightning bolt and struck Sally with it._

 _When the smoke cleared, the spot in which Sally had been standing in was empty and the floor was covered in ashes._

 _"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" I angrily cried out as I struggled to escape Ares's tight grip._

 _No matter how many times I bit or kicked Ares, he just seemed to hold me tighter._

 _Paul's reaction to the death of his wife was honestly incredible. No one expected a mortal to tackle Zeus to the ground, but that's apparently what Paul did. Zeus was caught off guard as Paul continuously punched him in the face as tears spilled down his face. The poor man looked so heartbroken that I just couldn't bear to watch any longer._

 _But Paul didn't stand a chance against the god who had a lightning bolt in his hand. Before Paul could get out of the way, a stream of lightning struck him in the chest and he was reduced to nothing._

 _But Zeus had another thing coming._

 _Before he could enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishing his task, Zeus was pinned against the wall by an enraged god of the sea._

 _"Let go of me Poseidon!" Zeus managed to spit out despite having a trident pinned against his throat._

 _"Mark my words Zeus, I will never forget what you have done. The death of my former lover shall never be forgotten. You have made a new enemy. The Sea will forever be against you," Poseidon announced before he stabbed Zeus with his trident._

 _Golden ichor gushed out from Zeus's mouth as his body went limp. Of course, being immortal, Poseidon had temporarily killed Zeus._

 _Unfortunately, none of us possessed any materials that could make a god fade. So Zeus would reform in about two days._

 _But forty eight hours without Zeus around would be the greatest gift anyone could ever ask for._

 _I felt Ares's grip on me loosen as he set me free._

 _I expected Artemis or Ares to attack Poseidon for what he did to their father, but they honestly looked grateful. Everyone else seemed like they could care less._

 _The gods, goddesses, and demigods began to disperse and go their separate ways. The Olympians flashed out one by one and the demigods began to file out the apartment door._

 _In less than two minutes, me and Poseidon were the only ones left in the apartment. The awkward silence between us was broken when Poseidon sank to his knees and clutched the ash that used to be Sally Jackson._

 _A simple "I'm sorry" wasn't going to fix anyone's problems, so I hugged my younger brother. He wept into my left shoulder as I did my best to console him._

 _Zeus may have taken away my godly abilities, but that didn't mean I couldn't comfort someone._

 _"Come along Poseidon. We may not have a body to bury, but we can still create something in their memory," I suggested to Poseidon._

 _Poseidon wiped away his tears as he nodded his head in agreement._

 _He grabbed my hand and flashed us away to a surprisingly beautiful cemetery. I had no idea where we were, but I immediately knew this would be the perfect place to honor the memory of the couple._

 _In an empty area, Poseidon conjured up a golden plaque that read:_

 ** _In loving memory of Sally Jackson-Blofis, a generous mother, wife, and daughter with a kind soul. She will forever remain in our hearts._**

 _Out of thin air, Poseidon created another golden plaque with an inscription that read:_

 ** _In loving memory of Paul Blofis, a brave husband and son who sacrificed his life for the sake of his wife._**

 _We planted the plaques within the Earth and paid our respects. I don't know how long we were there for, but it felt like an eternity._

 _I asked Poseidon where we were so that I could constantly visit the cemetery. He informed me that we were in Palm Springs, California._

Ever since that tragic day, I have visited the cemetery every two weeks. I honestly loved the couple. They were both such great mortals. Not to mention, Sally reminded me of myself.

Zeus obviously reformed that same week, but no one was happy about it. In fact, Poseidon and Zeus have grown apart and are no longer speaking to one another.

But what I'm worried about is the day Percy finds out about the execution of his mother and step-father. And do you know what the worst part is?

Sally was pregnant with Percy's baby sister.

 **Hope you enjoyed! New chapter is soon to arrive (hopefully)!**

 **Moving on to reviews from the previous chapter!**

Erin Davies: It's Angerona isn't it? The Goddess of Secrecy and Silence...a protecting Goddess of Rome and the Keeper of the Sacred name of the City...right?/

 **Correct my wonderful reader! Congrats! :)**

Anonymous24: Is it Angerona roman goddess of secrets?

 **As you found out in this chapter, that is accurate! :)**

Kamikaze459: It is either Angerona or Muta. Not sure which one.

 **It's Angerona my friend. Props to you for having her as one of your options! :)**

Thank you all for reading! As always, please don't forget to review. Love you all! Until the next update!

-BlueFangirlStreak


	8. Rebellious Relationships

**This chapter is dedicated to azhou1** **. Thank you for being such a supportive reader and friend! I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 7: Rebellious Relationships

 **Leo's POV**

Above on the surface, I was always used to waking up to a stream of sunlight shining on my face. But down here in Tartarus, it was still as dark as when I had fallen asleep.

I didn't want to get up.

I moved around a bit before noticing with a jolt that Lysias was sitting near me, watching me closely. Wow, who knew he could be so creepy? He reminded me of Nico. I'm sure they would be great friends if they ever met. I could already imagine it.

 _In a dark alleyway in some deserted street, Nico and Lysias are both hiding in the shadows for some random reason._

 _They are completely unaware of each other's presence and when they step out of the shadows, they somehow manage to surprise one another._

 _After scaring the living daylights out of each other, they calm down a bit and an eerie silence fills the alleyway. Awkwardly, Lysias stretches out his right hand, waiting for Nico to shake it. After a few seconds, Nico reluctantly shakes his hand._

 _"My name's Lysias. How about you?"_

 _"I'm Nico. Great job. You actually frightened me. I'm normally the one who startles others, not the other way around."_

 _Feeling smug, Lysias smirks and teases Nico by saying, "I wasn't even trying. Trust me, I'm an expert at alarming others. I even took a class. It was called 'Scaring People 101'."_

 _Instead of complaining or retaliating with a comeback, Nico merely stares blankly ahead, as if expecting something..._

 _Lysias is confused by this and before he has the chance to ask, a bony finger taps him on the shoulder from behind. As Lysias turns around to see who tapped him, he yelps in alarm while jumping about 2 inches in the air as he sees the skeleton._

 _Nico, who is trying his best not to laugh, gives Lysias a taste of his own medicine by saying, "So much for being an expert. I guess 'Scaring People 101' was a waste of your time."_

 _Lysias glares at Nico after recovering from his shock, but then he cracks a smile._

 _"You seem cool. Want to be friends?" Lysias asks._

 _"Sure, why not!" Nico exclaims with great enthusiasm as he grabs Lysias's hand and they both jump onto a cloud and end up flying toward the sun until they eventually burn up._

Okay, I have to admit, my brain is completely messed up. The entire scenario I created in my mind was normal up until the end. The real Nico would never act like some excited teenage girl, although I would pay a lot of money to see that. Plus, why would they fly to their doom? And since when could people sit on top of clouds? Who knew my mind could create something so weird?

Actually, forget that thought. It's not the first time something crazy pops into my head.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Lysias grabbed my shoulders and roughly shook me while saying, "Leo! You there? Hello? Earth to Leo!"

"Yeah, sorry. My ADHD was acting up again," I said apologetically.

"It's okay Leo. I was just worried," Lysias replied sincerely.

 _Wow, this dude is too caring to be on the evil side. Why is he fighting against Olympus?_

"Lysias, why are you working for Tartarus and Erebus? Is there a reason why you're fighting against the forces of Olympus?" I asked curiously.

Lysias immediately seemed to tense up at my question.

A long silence engulfed us until Lysias spoke up after a few minutes.

"Can I trust you with a secret?" he questioned with obvious reluctance.

"Of course buddy," I responded with complete honesty.

"Well, um... I don't actually know how to say this but, Tartarus and Erebus are my adoptive fathers and I'm their champion," Lysias revealed.

At that moment, I felt my jaw drop and I'm pretty sure I looked like a fool.

"W-what, you mean those two bozos adopted you as their son?! How is that even possible?! I'm pretty sure they don't even have a heart in the first place!" I exploded with a bunch of questions.

"Whoa, hold it man! Trust me, it's possible, or else they wouldn't have adopted me. And who said anything about them having a heart? From my experiences with them, I'm absolutely certain they're beyond heartless. I figured out a while ago that they only adopted me and made me their champion for their own benefit. They're using me Leo. If it were up to me, I would have already tried to escape this Pit and disappear where no one could find me, not even the immortal beings. I didn't want to be a part of this pointless war!" Lysias ranted bitterly with a scowl on his face.

"Then why don't you actually _try_ to escape?" I asked, wondering why he hadn't already done it.

"Don't you get it Leo? Isn't it obvious? Even if I somehow manage to escape without being caught, which I'm pretty sure is impossible, they'll search for me. And once they find me, I'll be the first one they destroy. Plus, Gaea is Tartarus's wife, so I can't exactly hide from them," Lysias explained.

He was right. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that, but don't blame me. After all, I _am_ Leo Valdez.

I felt bad for Lysias. He was being pushed around and controlled by two evil deities who would kill him immediately if he ever disobeyed them. Wow, and I thought my life was bad.

I opened my mouth to respond when Lysias suddenly slapped his hand over my mouth.

I was about to push his hand away and complain when Lysias put a finger up to his lips, demanding silence.

"Leo, they're listening," he whispered in my ear.

A blinding flash erupted in the right corner of my cell as the stinging pain of a slap flared up in my left cheek. I stared in disbelief at Lysias, unable to process that he had just slapped me for no reason. Before I could react, Lysias pushed me to the ground and began to kick me in the stomach. My breath hitched and the air was knocked out of my lungs.

In the right corner where the blinding flash had appeared came the sound of slow clapping, as seen in movies. The figure continued to clap as he made his way toward us. When he was close enough, I was barely able to distinguish his features despite the darkness.

It was the one and only Tartarus.

Lysias had stopped beating me to a pulp when Tartarus commanded him to.

"Excellent work Lysias. I find it pleasing to see a puny demigod suffer. Show him no mercy! I only came to inform you of a new mission, but that will have to wait until you finish torturing this _foul_ demigod. I will share the details of your new mission later," Tartarus informed Lysias as he flashed out once again, causing me to cover my eyes.

"Phew, that was a close one," Lysias breathed out.

As soon as I was one hundred percent sure that Tartarus was gone, I directed my glare toward Lysias.

"What?" Lysias asked with pure confusion laced in his tone.

"Really? You felt it was necessary to smack me around like a doll?" I asked with slight irritation.

Not that I have anything against Lysias, but if your friend beat you up, wouldn't you be in a bad mood as well?

"Look Leo, I'm sorry I did that, but I had no other choice. Trust me, I feel bad about it, but if Tartarus found me in your cell without torture involved, he would grow very suspicious. Do you know what he'll do to me if he ever finds out about our friendship?! He will take my soul and add it into his armor, where I will fade and reform, over and over, in never-ending agony! And after he does that, who knows what he'll do to you?!" Lysias cried out with apprehension.

I gulped at the thought of what Tartarus could do to make me suffer.

My body involuntarily shuddered. Don't judge me. Tartarus is just a really scary dude.

"Okay, I'm sorry for getting mad at you," I responded.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just really concerned about your safety," Lysias confessed while nervously tapping his fingers.

He sometimes reminds me of myself.

"So, where were we before we were rudely interrupted by Tartarus?" I asked, unable to remember our previous conversation.

"Um... Oh yeah! We were talking about how I can't escape my adoptive father's realm. Yeah, I know. It's a complete bummer Leo," Lysias sighed with a hint of humor in his tone.

"Maybe there _is_ a way to escape. Maybe you just haven't found it yet," I mused.

"As much as I appreciate the fact that you're trying to help me, I've already traveled the _entire_ Pit in search of a way out. You might be right. Maybe I missed a spot. I just probably haven't found it yet..." Lysias drifted off at the end, as if he were trying to reassure himself.

I was about to share some comforting words with Lysias when the ground beneath us suddenly glowed a deep purple shade and pulsated with energy.

 _Creepy_ _. And how many times am I going to be interrupted today?!_

I noticed the way Lysias immediately tensed up at the unexpected movement underneath us.

"I have to go Leo. Tartarus is requesting my presence in the Throne Room. Maybe we can talk later?" Lysias said before he ran out of my cell in a hurry.

I didn't even have the chance to say bye. Do you know how annoying that is?!

Now that I was alone, I decided to just sit back and relax until Lysias returned from the meeting.

* * *

 **Grover's POV**

As much as I hated it, I had nightmares almost every day.

When Percy had disappeared from Camp Half-Blood and was sent to Camp Jupiter (thanks to a meddling cow goddess), I had slightly weakened the empathy link between us.

That didn't mean I wouldn't get glimpses or dreams from Percy's perspective.

Honestly, I'm worried that he'll end up dying in Tartarus and I'll die along with him, but I won't let my fear get in the way of the only connection I have with my friend. Plus, if he's survived this long in the Pit, I doubt he'll be dying any time soon. My buddy is powerful enough to survive, even if he doesn't like admitting that he's a strong demigod.

If he survived Tartarus once, he can do it again!

Anyway, every night, my dreams usually consist of short glimpses of Tartarus. On some occasions, I hear muffled voices, but I don't know if one of them belongs to Percy or not.

Yesterday, I received the worst glimpse of all. I had the chance of seeing Tartarus, the _actual_ Primordial god of the Pit. I definitely know it was him because his aura simply screamed _EVIL!_

I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again. But at least I know that Percy is alive.

Lately I've been busy with my duties as "The Lord of the Wild". In the past, I would always do my best to visit Camp Half-Blood at least once a month. But ever since Percy's betrayal, I've been avoiding the camp like the plague.

Thalia's death hit me pretty hard. I can't help blaming myself for her death. I know Percy didn't murder her, and I know I wasn't even there, but I feel like I caused her death for the second time.

Except this time, her soul is actually in the Underworld, not trapped in some pine tree.

I also found out about what Annabeth did. She betrayed Percy, but I feel like she also betrayed me. How could she do that to him? I thought she was better than that. But apparently I was wrong.

With the announcement of a new threat, my satyrs and I have been ordered by Zeus to either go to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. As much as I hate the sky god for banishing my friend, I have to obey him unless I want to become a deep fried goat.

Right now, my satyrs and I are in Berkeley, California, making our way toward Camp Jupiter.

The only reason why Zeus demanded our presence in either of the camps is because he's trying to muster as many recruits as possible.

If it were up to me, I would have _"r_ _espectfully"_ defied his orders.

Hopefully we'll arrive at Camp Jupiter by tomorrow.

* * *

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

I ran out of Leo's cell as quickly as I could. Trust me, if Tartarus requests your presence, you better get yourself there immediately or there will be consequences.

I burst through the grand doors of the dark throne room and kneeled down before my masters.

"At last, you're finally here Lysias," Erebus boomed with anticipation.

"My Lords, why have you demanded my presence at this meeting?" I asked cautiously.

"We have called you here to provide you with the details of your new mission," Tartarus announced with a wicked glint in his beady eyes.

"What is my mission master?" I questioned with curiosity.

"You are to travel to Mount Olympus and interrupt the _very important_ meeting of the Olympian gods. We want you to inform them that the war will occur in three weeks, but don't tell them exactly what day of that week. If they attempt to slaughter you, feel free to threaten the life of your prisoner. Make sure to let them know that their cause is hopeless and that they don't stand a chance against two formidable Primordials! Don't forget to give them a demonstration of the power that the forces of the Pit have in possession! And whatever you do, do NOT reveal your identity!" Erebus informed me as I nodded in understanding.

"Do I have permission to physically attack or fight one of the gods?" I asked as a vengeful thought popped into my head.

"Yes you do. Now get going!" Tartarus ordered impatiently.

I bowed once more to my adoptive fathers and shadow traveled out of the throne room, eager to avenge the death of my father.

As soon as the shadows dispersed and my vision cleared, I was immediately aware of my surroundings.

I had appeared in the middle of the throne room, interrupting Zeus in the middle of his sentence.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT A MEETING OF THE GODS?!" Zeus boomed dramatically.

I grinned maniacally as I said, "No one in particular. Just your worst _nightmare_ _._ "

 **How was it? I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Moving on to reviews from the previous chapter!**

Guest: I love u best cliff hanger ever I had my doubts but wow, I am looking forward to the next chapter, I couldn't have written it any better wow wow wow

 **Aww, thank you so much! I didn't plan on making the ending a cliffhanger, but thanks for the compliment! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! I'm sure you would have been able to write something similar! Thanks for everything! :)**

nitewolf423: Hoo, Percy's gonna clear cut them all both good and bad

 **Maybe** **... Maybe not... It's a possibility that he might do that in a future chapter...**

PuddlePirATEpro: Once Percy finds out that Zeus murdered his mom, Paul and his unborn sibling, there will be nothing that can stop Percy from at least trying to murder the gods

 **You got that right my wonderful reader** **. Well-said!**

I love you all! As always, please don't forget to leave a review. Thank you all for the support! Until next time! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	9. Memory Madness

**Welcome to this new chapter! Enjoy my lovely readers!**

Chapter 8: Memory Madness

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

Have you ever seen a red tomato?

I'm pretty sure I have. And it even has a name.

Zeus.

Of course, if Zeus demands to know who interrupted his _very important_ meeting, you probably shouldn't answer by saying you're his worst nightmare, or else he might transform into a red tomato.

But did I mention it's pretty funny to watch?

"ANSWER ME WITH RESPECT _BOY_ OR I WILL SMITE YOU WITH MY MASTER BOLT!" Zeus roared furiously.

Under my breath, I muttered, "Calm down dude. You're such a Drama Queen."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Nothing your lordship," I replied sarcastically as I mockingly bowed.

This action only seemed to infuriate Zeus even more, which probably should've been impossible since he was already fuming. But I guess when you're a god, anything is possible, even if it includes anger issues.

Zeus looked about ready to destroy me with his lightning bolt, but I knew that he wouldn't do it. Even though Zeus can easily become hotheaded, I knew that he wasn't that dumb enough to murder someone without forcing information out of them first. Besides, he probably wanted to know who I was before actually attempting to kill me.

Through clenched teeth, Zeus hissed, "Reveal your identity or suffer the consequences!"

"Okay, fine. My name is Lysias," I answered without humor.

To be honest, I probably would've continued trying to embarrass and infuriate Zeus as much as possible, but that would mean my mission would take longer. And I don't want to spend any more time with the beings who cast me into that hellhole known as Tartarus.

"YOU! You're the one who attacked my daughter!" Athena shrieked as she rose from her throne.

"And you kidnapped my son!" Hephaestus added as he also stood from his throne, brandishing a flaming hammer.

"Leo's your son?" I questioned, wondering why I had never asked Leo who his godly parent was.

"Of course he is!" Hephaestus roared in anger.

"That's good, 'cause if you try to harm me, I can always torture Leo whenever I want," I told the blacksmith god smugly.

Hephaestus paled at the threat and he got rid of his hammer while returning to his throne.

"Athena, sit back down before I make you!" I ordered the wisdom goddess with a bit of irritation.

"And why should I obey you? You're just a weak mortal!" Athena retorted with obvious arrogance.

"Do you want information about the war or not?! You know I can just leave without telling you anything, right?" I asked with impatience, getting prepared to shadow travel out of the throne room.

Athena immediately realized her mistake and quickly pleaded, "Yes, we want the information!"

"Then sit," I commanded.

Athena's face turned red, possibly from embarrassment. Or anger. Or maybe both. Who knows?

But it was definitely hilarious watching Athena obey me as she unwillingly sat back down in her throne.

The wisdom goddess would do almost ANYTHING to get information.

"Now that you're all in your thrones, here's what's going to happen. In three weeks' time, the war you have all been anticipating will commence. But I do not have permission to inform you of the exact day of the week. That's up to you to figure out for yourselves. And I just want to let you all know that your cause is hopeless. Don't start getting ahead of yourselves thinking that you'll somehow prevail. You don't stand a chance against the sheer power of Lord Tartarus and Erebus. Don't forget that they're both Primordials while you're all measly little gods!" I proclaimed with triumph.

As soon as I insulted the gods, Zeus shot out of his throne and brought out his master bolt. Before anyone could stop him, he threw his master bolt directly at me.

Knowing that I was blessed by two very powerful Primordials, I didn't even bat an eye as I merely shrouded myself in a shield created by pure darkness.

Wow, thank you Erebus.

Zeus's lightning bolt simply deflected off of my shield and flew back in the direction of Zeus, who was too dumbfounded to even react.

His own bolt slammed into him and sent him soaring through the air, making him crash into his throne in the process. His throne immediately collapsed in a heap of rubble.

Oops, that's gonna leave a dent.

Zeus staggered to his feet and proceeded to murderously glare at me.

With a wave of his hand, Zeus's throne repaired itself and returned to its previous state.

Zeus grudgingly made his way back to his throne and sat down once again.

"You think you're the only one who can control lightning? Watch this _Lord_ Zeus," I told him as I sparked pitch-black lightning between my fingers.

"HA! What are you going to do? Juggle lightning between both of your hands? Wow, that's so scary!" Dionysus lazily said, pure sarcasm laced in his tone.

"No. I'm going to do this!" I exclaimed as I sent a streak of lightning toward Dionysus.

His eyes widened comically before my lightning made contact and his head smacked against his throne with a loud _crack!_ Dionysus's body went limp as he slipped into unconsciousness.

The throne room went completely silent as most of the Olympians glanced at each other in fear.

I broke the silence by announcing, "By the way, my lightning causes more damage than your _pathetic_ master bolt Zeus!"

For once, Zeus stayed quiet and didn't disagree with me.

Hmm, I wonder why...

"If anyone else tries anything, I swear I will murder Leo and torture you in the Pit! And just letting you know, that was merely a _small_ demonstration of the power that the forces of the Pit have in possession. You will easily be defeated by my masters," I sneered at the gods.

"He's right. Now that Perseus is no longer with us, we can't possibly stand a chance," Poseidon said dejectedly.

At the mention of the name, my head throbbed painfully, but I just ignored the sensation.

"Why are you all depressed, _Poseidon_?" I spat bitterly.

"What?" Poseidon stared at me, pure confusion written all over his face, which made my anger expand.

"Don't act all innocent _Poseidon_! You know what you did!" I seethed, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides.

Poseidon simply continued to look confused, which made me burst in rage.

"You murdered my father! Or are you just going to pretend like you don't remember?!"

My outburst just seemed to baffle Poseidon even more.

"I haven't taken the life of a mortal in centuries. I would definitely remember if I recently murdered someone. And I have never encountered anyone by the name of Lysias in my entire immortal life. I couldn't have killed your father, especially without a good reason," Poseidon promised me.

I have to admit, his tone did sound pretty solemn. But that doesn't mean I should believe him!

"You lie! Prove that you didn't end my father's life! Prove to me that the execution I witnessed with my own two eyes wasn't real! Prove it, you good-for-nothing villain!"

Poseidon was taken aback by the accusation as well as the hostility I directed toward him. By now, everyone else in the throne room had their eyes glued on the two of us, waiting to see what would happen next.

"If it will prove my innocence, then I swear by the River Styx that I did not murder your father," Poseidon announced as thunder rumbled beneath our feet.

After waiting for twenty seconds in silence, I was disappointed to see that Poseidon was still alive.

"Why isn't anything happening?! You should be temporarily dead you pathetic sea god! Or exiled! Or even tortured! Why have you not been punished if you are lying?!" I screeched at the top of my lungs.

"Do you not understand how oaths on the River Styx work, _boy_? If nothing happened to Poseidon, then that means he was being honest. He shouldn't be punished for telling the truth," Artemis angrily scolded me.

"Yes, I know how they work. But he's one of the Big Three! I don't think the oath even affects them at all!" I argued with exasperation.

"I may be the King of the Gods, but trust me, it affects both mortals and immortals alike. The last time I broke my oath, my punishment did not occur immediately. It actually occurred about 5 years ago, when Poseidon temporarily killed me. I spent the next two days reforming after that," Zeus explained while shooting a death glare at Poseidon.

"But that doesn't explain why he's not currently suffering! How can he be telling the truth if I saw my father's death with my own two eyes?!" I cried out in outrage.

"I think I could explain that," a woman's voice spoke from the corner to my right.

Our heads turning in the direction in which the voice came from, we noticed a beautiful golden-robed woman with luscious auburn hair step out from the shadows.

From behind me, I heard Zeus mutter one word, or one name to be exact:

"Mnemosyne."

At the mention of Mnemosyne's name, Hera scowled with jealousy, tightly clutching the armrests of her throne. It was obvious that she hated anyone who has had an affair with Zeus in the past.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Hera hissed with disgust.

"Like I said, I believe that I can help explain the truth to this mysterious boy. After all, I am the Titan goddess of memory," Mnemosyne replied calmly.

I didn't feel comfortable knowing that a Titaness was going to be searching through my memories, but I really wanted to know why I lost most of my memories.

My curiosity got the best of me and I agreed to let her examine my memories.

Mnemosyne walked toward me and placed her fingers on the sides of my head before the world faded into a swirl of memories.

* * *

 **Poseidon's POV**

Lysias's accusations were confusing me beyond belief.

All of the other Olympians and myself included were anticipating what memories Mnemosyne would unearth within the boy's mind.

The Titaness concentrated as she placed her fingers on the sides of Lysias's head. After about a minute, a wisp of smoke emerged from Lysias's head and glided toward the center of the throne room.

The wisp of smoke expanded until it eventually became what looked like a misty screen. One of Lysias's memories appeared on the screen, demonstrating the so-called execution performed by me.

The screen displayed an unfamiliar mortal man cowering in the corner of what appeared to be his home. The menacing person with a trident in his hand that was approaching the mortal was... me.

How is that even possible?! I don't even remember ever laying my eyes upon this mortal! I don't know him! How is this a genuine memory within the mind of this boy?!

I decided to turn my attention back to the screen, watching as "Poseidon" beheaded the mortal man using his trident while a boy (most likely Lysias) screamed in the background.

The memory concluded and the misty screen went dark before completely vanishing.

"Hmm, this boy is very interesting," Mnemosyne mumbled to herself.

At that moment, Lysias's eyes suddenly snapped open and he turned his gaze toward me.

His lips curled in a ferocious snarl as he shrieked in pure rage, "Now do you remember how you murdered my father _Poseidon_?! Or do you have to see it again?!"

"Actually, I discovered something unusual as I was searching through your memories," Mnemosyne announced before I could reply.

"Well, what did you find?" Lysias questioned impatiently.

"Most of your memories are blocked and I can't penetrate them because a powerful force is preventing me from unlocking them. I can't identify where the force is or who it belongs to, but your memories are inaccessible. I was able to find the memory of your father's death and demonstrate it to the Olympians, but that was all I could do. And there's one more thing I forgot to mention. While I was examining your accessible memories, I sensed that someone has implanted false memories in your head," Mnemosyne revealed much to the shock of Lysias.

"Are you suggesting that this unworthy god did not murder my father?" Lysias asked with disbelief.

"Yes, and someone has been tampering with your mind," Mnemosyne replied with sincerity.

"YOU ALL LIE! You're just trying to defend Poseidon! Why should I believe you?!" Lysias roared with obvious hatred.

"Well, Mnemosyne is the actual personification of Memory itself. The only reason why you deny the truth is because you're afraid of the fact that everything you believed was real is actually a false mirage," Athena reprimanded Lysias using her "wisdom".

Lysias simply dropped to the ground and curled up into a fetal position, concealing his face from our peering eyes.

Utter silence engulfed the throne room as we all anticipated what Lysias would do next.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lysias raised his head and simply glared at me.

"I challenge you to a fight Poseidon! Do you accept?" Lysias hissed with barely contained rage.

I merely glanced at my fellow Olympians, attempting to figure out what they suggested me to do. A slight nod from Hades made me decide to accept the challenge.

"Yes I do," I replied with confidence.

"Very well then. If you lose, then I will keep you captive in Tartarus. If you win, I'll allow you to keep me captive here on Olympus. Deal?" Lysias questioned with a smug look on his face.

"Deal."

"The fight commences now!" Lysias announced as he shifted into a battle stance.

I grabbed my trident and charged at the boy. Using my trident, I attempted to strike Lysias, but he was too quick. Every time I swung my trident, Lysias was no longer there. He was simply a blur of darkness.

A jabbing pain suddenly erupted in my side as Lysias's powerful lightning zapped me in the ribs. I cried out in pain while clutching my side, but then I recovered and created a hurricane, sending it toward Lysias.

Unfortunately, the last thing I saw before the hurricane reached Lysias was a shield enveloping him.

When the hurricane dissolved, I was very disappointed to notice that Lysias was completely unaffected by it.

An idea popped into my head as I engulfed Lysias in a water sphere, trying my best to drown him. After a minute, Lysias still appeared to be breathing normally, which puzzled me.

In my moment of distraction, Lysias burst from the sphere and flung himself toward me. He collided into me and sent us both crashing to the ground.

"At long last, I will avenge you father!" Lysias bellowed as he placed his hands on my face and ignited them with the flames of Tartarus, which is known to be much more destructive than Greek fire.

I wailed in agony as my face was scorched by the flames.

"Let this be a warning, _Poseidon_. You do NOT mess with me or my family!" Lysias yelled in my face before he conjured up a fiery whip and smacked my face with it.

He continued to strike my face with the whip until he got tired of it and unsheathed his black sword. Lysias raised his sword into the air before he flung it down onto my right leg, completely slicing it off.

My screams echoed throughout the throne room before the Olympians finally decided to intervene in the fight.

As soon as Lysias noticed what they were doing, he grabbed me by the shirt and wrapped us both in shadows.

Before the throne room disappeared from sight, the last thing I heard was Lysias triumphantly hollering, "Sayonara, suckers!"

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! By the way, please visit the poll on my profile page and vote for which character's POV you want me to include in the next chapter!**

 **Moving on to reviews from the previous chapter!**

irenechon2005: Oooooh! It's getting GOOD! Love this story! (Creepy, I know)

 **I mean, it's not that creepy, but thanks! That's really nice of you to say! :)**

ChaosAlpha5: It's official, I AM IN LOVE! I haven't found a good Percy fic with a decent plot for a while and I have to say that this is a GREAT plot and I just LOVE the details and stuff.

 **Wow, you're all so sweet! Thank you so much! I don't really think this story's that great, but thanks for boosting my spirits! Glad you love it! :)**

Vince: Bro upload

 **I just did. Like right now. And I'm sorry if that sounds rude. But thanks for the support my wonderful reader!**

Death Fury: Great job

 **Thanks! You're very kind. :)**

azhou1: This is awesome! At least you didn't kill Leo *cough* *cough*.

 **Thanks! You're a great friend! And don't be too sure about that. I might do it 'cause you tricked me into thinking that you killed Leo. Just kidding. :)**

bubby11: Loved it

 **Thank you for the support and generosity! You're the best! :)**

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Love you all! Until next time.

-BlueFangirlStreak


	10. Complicated Confession

**ALERT:** **I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WORK ON A NEW CHAPTER UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF AUGUST BECAUSE SCHOOL BEGINS IN 3 WEEKS. I HAVE A SUMMER ASSIGNMENT TO COMPLETE AND I WILL BE BUSY FOR THE MAJORITY OF THIS MONTH. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE, BUT EDUCATION COMES FIRST. I HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND.**

 **Sorry for the really long wait. This chapter is dedicated to Darth LeGioN II for being a supportive reader and a wonderful friend! Thank you so much for everything! This goes for everyone else as well. You're all amazing people! :)**

Chapter 9: Complicated Confession

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

The shadows dissolved before my vision returned to normal. My arms were still tightly wrapped around Poseidon, making sure he didn't try to attack me or escape if he saw an opportunity.

We both landed in the middle of the throne room within Tartarus. Before Poseidon even had a chance to blink, a pair of celestial bronze handcuffs suddenly appeared on his wrists. His legs weren't a problem since I had recently chopped off one of them.

Two blinding flashes erupted directly in front of us, causing me to shield my eyes with my arms to avoid immediate death.

I slowly removed my arms from my face, making sure Tartarus and Erebus weren't in their divine forms. (They've done that before. Let's just say I nearly died. Gosh that was annoying).

After making sure I wouldn't be reduced to ashes, I relaxed and kicked Poseidon forward. Since he was missing a leg, Poseidon immediately lost his balance and toppled to the ground at the feet of Tartarus and Erebus.

You know what the funny part was? He fell on his face. Simple as that.

"My lords, I have brought Poseidon down here into Tartarus as my second prisoner. Mostly because I hate his guts and I beat him in a duel. The mission was successful," I reported to my masters.

Was it just my imagination, or did Erebus turn pale? And by pale, I mean paler than usual.

Before I could contemplate it too much, I simply decided to push aside the silly thought. Besides, Erebus is an ancient Primordial god. What could he possibly be afraid of?

I returned my attention to my lords, just in time to catch a glimpse of them sharing a quick look of worry.

"Do you know what you have done?! You shouldn't have brought him here!" Tartarus roared with disapproval.

"Why not Lord Tartarus?! Why can't I have the right to take anyone hostage? What's so dangerous about Poseidon?" I questioned with barely controlled rage.

Normally I did my best not to talk back to my masters (to avoid being thrown into the Acheron River), but I craved to torture the god who took the life of my dear father.

"You know it's risky to bring an Olympian into the Pit. He might manage to escape and share any information he overhears with the other Olympians. Return him to the surface immediately!" Erebus urgently commanded me.

"No."

"Excuse me?! Did you just say no?!" Erebus bellowed as his body literally shook from the power in his possession that yearned to obliterate me.

"You heard me. I'm not taking him back. He's going to stay down here where I can torture him as I please! And none of you can stop me. Besides, both of you love the idea of inflicting harm upon the infuriating Olympians. Isn't that the reason why we're preparing for war? Why are you suddenly against the opportunity to torture one of them?" I asked with determination, hoping they wouldn't wipe me off the face of the Earth.

Tartarus's beady eyes were giving me a cold glare, staring straight into my own eyes, as if he wanted to suck my soul from my body and tear it to shreds.

"If Poseidon's captivity didn't involve torture, keep in mind that you wouldn't be existing right now _boy_! The next time you disobey our orders, you will _never_ again see the light of day. Escort Poseidon to a cell!" Erebus hissed before he flashed out of the throne room along with Tartarus.

As soon as they were gone, I spun around and noticed with satisfaction that Poseidon still couldn't get up from the ground. Being a god, his missing leg was beginning to regenerate, but the process would take a while.

Without a word, I simply grabbed Poseidon by the ear and yanked him out of the throne room while he yelled curses at me. When his constant cursing got on my nerves, I punched him directly in the jaw and warned him to keep his mouth shut.

Thankfully, the rest of the journey was nothing but golden silence. By the time I reached the prison cells, I was already exhausted from dragging Poseidon. Who knew a god could be so heavy?

I slammed open his cell and roughly hauled him into it before locking the metal gate.

"Lysias, is that you?" Leo's voice echoed throughout the empty hall.

Before responding, I shadow traveled into his cell and appeared directly behind him.

"Boo!" I yelled in his ear, causing Leo to jump into the air while shrieking: "¡Mama mía!"

His reaction had me cracking up on the floor for the next two minutes. It was comedy gold.

Leo wasn't too happy about it though. In fact, he was complaining about it while I was laughing.

"Come on! You can't just do that! Especially in a place where I can barely see anything! You're lucky I didn't have a heart attack," Leo grumbled as he embraced me in a bro hug.

"Sorry, I just want to have fun once in a while. As you know, the Pit is always so dark and lonely," I explained apologetically as I patted him on the back.

"So, before you came in here, what were you doing? What was that noise down the hall?" Leo asked curiously.

"I was locking up Poseidon in one of the other cells," I answered halfheartedly, noticing that Leo's eyebrows shot up dramatically.

"You mean, the god of the sea is down here in Tartarus?!" Leo questioned with obvious disbelief.

"Yep. I beat him in a duel and brought him down here as my captive to torture him," I explained nonchalantly.

"What?! Why dude?!"

"'Cause he murdered my mortal father and he must pay the price!" I seethed at the memory.

Leo backed away from me due to my mini explosion of anger before imploring, "Calm down Lysias. Relax."

I took his advice and slowly inhaled and exhaled, repressing my ire and entering a tranquil state.

"Much better. Thanks Leo," I told him gratefully, flashing a smile that he probably couldn't see in the dark.

"No problem Lysias. And I wanted to talk to you about-" Leo began to say before he was cut off by the pulsing of the ground beneath our feet.

We both looked at each other uneasily. Tartarus and Erebus wanted to talk to me. After what happened between us, that probably wasn't a good thing.

"I hope you come back alive," Leo told me anxiously.

"Me too buddy, me too," I replied before shadow traveling into the throne room.

My masters were impatiently waiting for me on their thrones, looking cranky and grumpy as usual, which wasn't a surprise.

I wisely bowed to them and asked, "My lords, why have you requested my presence?"

Tartarus was the first one to speak.

"What you did during your mission to Mount Olympus is completely unacceptable!"

"What did I do?" I questioned with utter confusion.

"You gave the enemy information about yourself! You granted Mnemosyne permission to snoop through your memories!" Tartarus boomed as his beady eyes glowed with raw energy.

Uh oh.

I gulped nervously and hoped that I wouldn't be erased from existence right then and there. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting to get the punishment over with, but nothing occurred. With caution, I slowly reopened one eye and then the other.

Tartarus still looked like he was seething with rage, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Deeming it safe to speak, I asked with suspicion, "And what's so dangerous about my memories besides revealing secret information about the war? Are you hiding something from me? Do you both know something that I don't?"

A knowing look passed between them, which didn't go unnoticed by me.

"What do you know, _fathers_?" I spat with disgust and betrayal at the thought of having been lied to for who knows how long by my so-called "fathers."

"Lysias, if you want us to be honest with you, then we will. Your real father, the mortal who was murdered by Poseidon, actually betrayed you like the rest of your family. After he had betrayed you, he couldn't live with the guilt of knowing that he had caused you pain. He didn't want you to remember him as a loving father who turned his back on his son. So he summoned Erebus and I, begging us to erase your recent memories of him, and to replace them with cheerful ones instead. And we granted his request on one condition," Tartarus explained without hesitation.

"And what was that condition?" I asked uncertainly.

"We demanded your father to hand over his only son in exchange for his wish," Erebus answered in response to my question.

 _My father's only son…_

Me.

I mean, who else could it be? I didn't have any siblings.

I was shell-shocked and speechless. The words were caught in my throat. They couldn't properly spill from my lips.

In other words, I was stuttering like an idiot.

Noticing my inability to speak, Tartarus decided to continue explaining the truth they had hidden from me.

"Your father agreed and promised that he would bring you to us in exactly one month. The deal seemed quite fair, so we granted his request and implanted false memories in your mind. But much to your father's disappointment, the Olympians were aware that he was in communication with us. They held a trial on Olympus and declared that your father was guilty without a doubt. The punishment for his crime was death, so the Olympians sent Poseidon to carry out the execution, which happened before your eyes. The gods cast you down into the Pit as punishment for being the son of your father. But what they didn't know was that you were going to be in Tartarus either way. They did what your father wasn't alive to fulfill," Tartarus finished explaining before the throne room was once again engulfed in silence.

"So, what you're saying is that my father actually stabbed me in the back like everyone else. I should've known! I mean, why would anyone even love me? You two don't love me! I'm not your son! I'm more like a pet slave. You only wanted me so you could use me to your advantage, didn't you?! You DON'T own me. Why should I obey you in the first place?" I cried out as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! You have spoken out against us more than once! As punishment for defying us, you will receive something far more worse than physical torture! I'm going to warn you in advance. By tomorrow, your punishment will have been fulfilled in a way that you will not understand!" Tartarus declared before dismissing me from the throne room.

As I rushed out of the throne room, all I had in mind was how I had screwed up pretty badly.

 _What have I done?_

* * *

 **Thalia's POV (In Elysium)**

Death. Freaking. Sucks.

Well, except for the fact that I get to eat blue food everyday, which I have to admit is pretty awesome, yet sad at the same time.

I know I probably shouldn't be complaining because I'm in Elysium, but it's so boring down here. Every day is the exact same routine. Nothing new.

The souls in Elysium live in luxury, but luxury's not really my style. I'm more of an adventure-seeking kind of soul. I live for danger. Which is ironic, 'cause I'm not even alive.

I just had to die, didn't I?

During the time I've resided in the Underworld, I've hoped for some kind of miracle, like being summoned by Death Breath. I've only actually been summoned twice by two different people, but that's not really important.

What my so-called father did was unforgivable. I remember being alone one day in my mansion here in Elysium, completely bored out of my mind until the doorbell rang, which was unexpected because I had never received any visitors. The people who were behind the door caught me by surprise.

Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis.

The wonderful mother and step-father of Percy Jackson were actually standing at my door. At the time, I had no idea if I was hallucinating or going insane as a side-effect of being dead, but I wasn't. They were actually in front of me wearing pure white robes and shimmering with a transparent, bluish light like every other ghost.

And the first thing that came to my mind was why they were in the Underworld in the first place.

Even though I was shocked to find out that they had died, I had welcomed them into my home and fired questions at them like crazy. Eventually they told me how my disgusting father had murdered them without demonstrating a hint of mercy.

Although I felt guilty about their premature deaths, Mrs. Jackson urged me not to blame myself for something my father did, not me.

But that didn't stop me from believing that it was kind of _my_ fault. After all, this entire disaster technically only began because I was murdered. Zeus blamed Percy for _my_ death and executed his parents out of revenge.

Even though the guilt weighed me down, Mrs. Jackson had embraced me in a bone-crushing hug on that particular day and even offered to bake me a batch of blue cookies.

Of course I obviously said yes. I mean, who wouldn't say yes to _blue cookies_ prepared by the amazing Sally Jackson?

You might be wondering why the ghosts of dead people need to eat, but we actually don't. It's not a necessity, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a blue cookie once in a while.

Spending the afterlife with Sally and Paul was probably the best thing that had happened to me down here, but they didn't deserve to have their lives taken from them.

I love Sally as if she were my own mother. She treated me like her daughter and was always there for me when I needed her the most. Unlike my birth mother who only craved attention, fame, and power. I was basically the one who raised Jason before he disappeared. And the only reason why Jason was taken away from me in the first place was because of her.

Sally and Paul have been living with me in Elysium for a couple of years now. Ever since they both arrived, Elysium has truly started to feel like paradise. Speaking of which, they actually appeared at my doorstep a couple of years ago. And every single day has been blue food heaven.

Right now I was at the Elysian beach, dipping my feet in the water. The sad thing about the beach was that it painfully reminded me too much about Percy. I was entirely alone. Sally and Paul were back at the mansion, preparing a blue dinner in honor of Percy as usual.

I was contemplating the beauty of the beach, enjoying the soothing sensation of the ocean's currents. Before long, the sound of footsteps approaching me from behind could be heard.

I immediately assumed that the person moving towards me was either Sally or Paul, coming to tell me that dinner was ready.

I lifted myself from the ground, brushing off the sand that had clung to my robes. I turned around to greet whoever had come to fetch me. To my surprise, I found myself face to face with a mysterious cloaked figure instead. For some reason, he looked strangely familiar to me...

"Hello Thalia Grace," the unknown man sneered as he flashed a wicked grin.

His creepy voice sent shivers down my spine. He radiated a powerful, malevolent aura that clearly expressed the fact that he was up to no good.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" i asked with a cautious suspicion.

"Oh, you don't remember me? That's a shame," the cloaked man replied with mock hurt.

Suddenly it hit me. I remembered previously seeing that exact same cloak and black sword at his waist in the past.

This man was my killer. He was the one who sent me into the Underworld and ruined Percy's life.

My body trembled with rage and my vision went red.

"YOU! You monster! My best friend was blamed for my death because of _you_! He was banished to Tartarus to suffer for eternity when it should've been you!" I snapped furiously while trying to incinerate him with my intense glare.

The unfortunate thing is that he sadly never burst into flames.

"Yes indeed, I caused all of those things. But guess what sweetheart? I'm down in Tartarus with your friend as well. Percy Jackson, right? Except the only difference between Percy and I is that I'm not the one suffering. In fact, Erebus, the Primordial god of shadows and darkness, instructed me to trespass into Camp Half-Blood and assassinate you so that everything could go according to plan. And so far, it has," my murderer explained as he cackled with evil delight.

"First of all, don't you ever dare call me sweetheart again or I swear I'll rip your throat out! And secondly, you're basically an assassin working for Erebus, aren't you?" I asked with obvious annoyance as I folded my arms across my chest.

"Actually, not exactly. I'm not an assassin. I'm not working for Erebus and he's not working for me. We're just... cooperating. As for the 'sweetheart' thing, I think I like that nickname for you, _sweetheart_ ," the man smirked before I flung myself at him and grabbed him in a choke hold.

The idiot still had a stupid smirk plastered on his face while I pummeled his chest with my fists.

"Is that supposed to hurt me sweetheart?" he taunted while flashing his bloody teeth.

My anger intensified at his comment and I gave him a kick to the stomach, causing a small groan to escape from his lips.

He obviously wasn't going to give me the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain and beg for mercy, but I wanted to see him bleed.

My next kick made contact with his head, making him slightly wince.

I decided to stop when I realized that he actually wanted to infuriate me and make me attack him. He wanted the pleasure of seeing me in a bad temper. And I was doing exactly what he wanted to see.

"Why don't you shut up! Why are you actually here? What's the real reason? I don't suppose you came here just to visit me and rub your assassination story in my face, right?!" I yelled in his face, trying to make him leave Elysium for the rest of eternity so that I would never have to see him again.

"Yes, you're right about that, girl. As fun as it is to annoy you, I'm here for a fairly good reason. I made a promise to someone and I'm here to fulfill it," the man said ominously before moving his right hand into his cloak and removing a glowing crystal orb from it.

"What promise did you make? And what the Hades is that?!" I questioned while eyeing the strange orb warily and backing away slowly.

"The promise is none of your business. As for this-" he said as he held up the luminescent orb, "-this is your new home. Or prison. Whatever you prefer to call it."

The revelation struck me like an atomic bomb and my breathing hitched.

My killer only came here to capture me. This was all a trap. Murdering me was only the beginning. He wasn't done with me yet.

I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't move. I was either paralyzed with fear, which had never happened to me in the face of danger, or the man was keeping me in place with the power he radiated.

I'm going to assume it was the latter.

"Let me go! Why do you need me?" I cried out in frustration as I struggled to move.

The man merely continued to stalk closer and closer to me before he replied, "Like I said, that information is only for me to know. I'm afraid you belong to me now, sweetheart."

I couldn't run, but I sure could scream.

"SALLY! PAUL! Someone! Anyone! HELP!" I cried out desperately, hoping that a soul nearby would overhear.

I was surprised by the fact that my potential captor didn't clamp my mouth shut with his hands to keep me quiet.

The man had a smug grin when he noticed that not a single soul showed up to help after a minute had passed.

"I guess no one truly cares about you. You're coming with me," my murderer told me as he approached me with the orb.

I obviously didn't have a choice in this situation, which pretty much sucked.

My delicate soul formed a tail (kind of like a comet) that pointed in the direction of the orb. The orb was like a magnet, attracting me towards it. I didn't want to go down without a fight, but I was practically frozen in place.

As the man came closer to me, my tail continued to grow until I was no longer standing on the beach sand. As quickly as it had started, I was encased within the crystal orb.

I banged and kicked the surface of my new prison, but to no avail. Much to my disappointment, not a single crack appeared on the crystal orb. I slumped hopelessly before noticing my captor smiling triumphantly above me.

 _Freaking jerk._

Sudden movement to my right caught my attention.

I pressed my face against the surface of the orb, trying to get a better glimpse of the outside world. When the view cleared up, I noticed Paul running in my direction with Sally close behind him.

They were yelling something, but they were too far away for me to hear them.

But before they could get too close to cause any damage, my captor enveloped both of us in shadows and my last image of Elysium disappeared before my eyes.

My last thought was: _Too late_.

 **Challenge of The Day: Try to figure out the identity of Thalia's killer in the reviews. I know I didn't include any helpful clues about him, but just do your best to guess. Hints about his identity will be included in a future chapter. **

**Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter! All of you are really generous. If you ever have any questions, feel free to private message me. I'll make sure to respond as soon as possible.**

 **Moving on to reviews from the previous chapter!**

azhou1: Nice chapter! Don't kill Leo *reminder*.

 **Aww, thanks! And I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything.**

Darth LeGioN II: Wow, it has been a while since I am following a fanfic. This fanfic is right up there with the best. I mean, just awesome. If Hades and Calliope had a child mentored by Uncle Rick, he/she would've written like this.

 **I private messaged you about this. Like I told you, thank you so much for the compliments. You have honestly made me feel more confident about my writing. :)**

irene2005: I'm BACK! And thank you! Anyways, really love this chapter although, Do you think that Poseidon or Athena or any other god will conclude that he is Percy? What will Lysias do with Leo as well? Better yet... Hades.. LOVE this story and I hope you continue! :)

 **You already know I private messaged you about this. I'm still not sure** **who else is going to figure out that Lysias is Percy. I'll think about it. And thank you for the constant support! Don't worry, I promise I won't discontinue this book. I actually enjoy writing the new chapters. :)**

Death Fury: Wow...

 **I hope you mean that in a good way. Just kidding. And thank you for taking the time to read my book. :)**

Keep on being wonderful people! Can't wait to see if anyone correctly guesses the identity of Thalia's killer! Love you all. Until the next update my awesome readers! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	11. Homicide Hoax

**Hello everyone! Shoutout to azhou1 for being the only person on this site who figured out the identity of Thalia's killer! Congrats my friend! :)**

 **I want to get to know you all better, so please post the country you're in right now in the reviews! Thank you so much for helping me reach 15** **.7K reads! It's unbelievable** **.** **Couldn't have done it without you all! Honestly, I'm so freaking happy right now. You have no idea. So I want to dedicate this chapter to all of you wonderful readers who have supported me along the way. You're all way too amazing! I hope you enjoy this chapter written in your honor! Love you all! :)**

Chapter 10: Homicide Hoax

 **Annabeth's POV**

The day started out pretty normal. Well, a demigod's life is never normal, but you know what I mean.

The unexpected "incident" with the Oracle, or should I say Rachel Dare, happened during lunch in the dining pavilion.

As usual, the dining pavilion was filled with food, laughter, and conversations at every table. Well, except for the tables belonging to the maiden goddesses. And the Poseidon table was empty as well, but obviously for a different reason.

The Athena table was bursting with energy, all of my half-siblings discussing about the "War of Balance" prophecy that Rachel had delivered two days ago during the Big House meeting.

There had recently been rumors going around that a new prophecy and quest would be issued, but I pushed the silly thought aside. Two different prophecies have never been proclaimed in the exact same week. In fact, it's rare enough that we even get a _single_ prophecy from the Oracle.

So I just ate my lunch in silence while listening to the conversations being shared between my half-siblings.

Lunch went on like this for the next five minutes, until I felt a sudden disturbance.

I immediately looked up from my plate of food, glancing at Malcolm to see if he felt the disturbance as well. He caught my gaze and nodded, sending the clear message that I wasn't the only one who sensed it. I tore my gaze from him and searched the pavilion for any possible threats. Nothing seemed wrong, which is _never_ a good sign when you're a demigod. There's _always_ something wrong. A demigod's life is never that easy or simple. There's always going to be something or someone trying to kill you.

I was starting to grow worried until my eyes landed on Rachel Dare, who was standing near the pavilion's only exit. The strange thing about her was that she looked like she was going to be sick. Her face was sickly green and it seemed like she would faint at any moment.

But she didn't.

Instead, she tried to walk toward the center of the pavilion, stumbling along the way and almost losing her balance multiple times. Once she reached the center, her body went completely rigid, her back as straight as a wooden pencil.

At that point, almost everyone in the pavilion had noticed her and the many discussions had come to a halt. The campers' eyes were glued on her, observing as Rachel suddenly doubled over in pain as if someone had hit her stomach with a baseball bat. As quickly as she had bent forward, she straightened up immediately again, green smoke beginning to spill from her lips.

For the next minute or so, the green smoke continued to emit from her mouth until it engulfed the entire dining pavilion. I couldn't see anything but green. I felt like I was blind, doomed to only be able to see the color green.

But my mind knew I hadn't lost my vision.

I tried my best to catch a glimpse of Rachel, but everyone around me was obscured from sight by the thick serpent fumes. The silence was beginning to unsettle me until three powerful voices spoke in unison. I immediately knew that Rachel was delivering a new prophecy. So much for not having more than one prophecy in the same week. The strange part was when images began to appear in the eerie smoke **.**

 _ **"Three Greek half-bloods will travel alone, To the Pit they shall be thrown,"**_ Rachel announced as the smoke swirled and displayed an entrance to Tartarus, which made me involuntarily shudder.

 ** _"The parallel Primordial of Chaos lies below,_** ** _And His power will begin to grow,"_** the Oracle continued before the image of a black throne oozing with power was shown.

 ** _"One must convince Him to return,_** ** _Or suffer by watching the world burn,"_** Rachel concluded as the smoke twisted into the image of the world being engulfed in never-ending flames.

I gulped at the terrifying prospect. The Oracle sure knew how to strike fear into our hearts.

Before I could react, the green smoke began to recede, moving back in the direction it had originally come from. Before long, the fumes were entirely gone and I was able to see my surroundings.

As soon as Rachel's eyes lost their green glow, she went limp and began to fall. Fortunately, Chiron was right behind her and caught her into his arms. That was great and all, especially since Rachel didn't hit her head on the ground and receive a concussion, but since when was Chiron behind her? One second he was at his table with Dionysus and the next he was catching the Oracle.

I'm just going to assume he used his centaur speed.

With help from two demigods, Chiron was able to safely place Rachel into a chair. As soon as he made sure she was okay, Chiron turned his attention towards us.

His grim expression unnerved me, but he seemed to know something I didn't, which frustrated me. That old centaur was always hiding something. Now I know how Percy felt when Chiron and I kept the Great Prophecy from him.

"Do we have any volunteers for this quest?" Chiron questioned before my hand immediately shot up along with Katie and Nico.

Chiron seemed surprised that the three demigods for the quest had been determined so quickly.

I on the other hand, was ignoring the glares that both Katie and Nico were shooting at me. They obviously weren't going to forgive me after all these years, which I didn't blame them for. I could tell they wanted to tell Chiron that it would be best if he chose two different demigods, but at the same time they were determined to travel to Tartarus and possibly rescue Percy along the process. So they weren't going to back down from this quest.

Yet I could see in their eyes that they wanted nothing to do with me and didn't even want to be anywhere near my presence.

They were only going on this quest for Percy. Working together was going to be tough.

"Very well then. You can pack up your things first thing in the morning. I want you three to be well rested for this quest. You leave tomorrow morning after breakfast," Chiron informed us before returning to his table.

 _Tomorrow is when I will return to my worst nightmare_ _. But I am doing this for Percy, even if going back into Tartarus proves to be a suicide mission. But failing isn't an option_ _. We must convince that Primordial to return to Chaos,_ _or else we'll be forced to watch the world burn_ _..._

* * *

 **Leo's POV**

I was worried out of my mind.

After Lysias shadow traveled away, I began to continuously pace around my cell, fearing the worst. After thirty minutes of waiting, I started to lose the only hope I had left, thinking that Lysias was surely a dead man by now.

Before I could consider the idea of collapsing in a fit of tears and creating a makeshift burial shroud for him, I heard the distant sound of someone running through the hall.

Could it be?

Was my amazing friend still alive?

My questions were answered when Lysias appeared at the entrance of my cell. I sighed in relief and thanked my father above for some random reason.

But I immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Lysias opened up my cell and made his way toward me until he was standing right in front of me.

"Leo, I'm going to receive a punishment," Lysias informed me with a slight edge of fear in his tone.

"What did you do this time Lysias?" I scolded him like a mother.

Wow, that's kind of creepy. Since when have I been a female, much less a mother?!

Maybe it's because I'm a foxy mama, but that's completely off-topic.

"Um, I might have disrespected Tartarus and Erebus a teensy tiny bit. And I might have also yelled at them. You know, nothing too huge," Lysias said while casually shrugging before the ground began to viciously quake, sending us tumbling against each other until we both collapsed in a heap.

Lysias groaned with obvious annoyance before fixing his mistake, "On second thought, it's apparently a really big deal to them and I'm royally screwed. Would you mind protecting me Leo?"

I lightly pushed him away from me before immediately shaking my head in response.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm protecting you from them Lysias. I know we're friends, but you kind of brought this upon yourself. Besides, don't you remember what happened during my first day down here? I nearly peed my pants in their presence! I'm not going through that again Lysias. I'm sorry, but I won't," I made my decision, determined that I wouldn't let him try to change my mind.

Lysias frowned in response. I bet he expected me to instantly agree to protect him only because we're friends. Not happening. Those guys freak me out!

"You're not going to help me Leo? Are you going to let me suffer alone?" Lysias questioned with an innocent, childlike tone, attempting to make me feel guilty.

The worst part was when he began to pout like a little child who wasn't visited by the tooth fairy during the night. His eyes were covered by that hood he was always wearing, but in the darkness, I somehow managed to catch a small glimpse of green. Or was it black?

I wasn't entirely certain what color his eyes were, but something told me to store this information for later.

So I did.

Refocusing my attention back to the conversation, I responded, "Only if you stay by my side at all times. There's no way I'm going with you if you end up ditching me along the way."

Biting his lip nervously, Lysias decided to warn me in a quiet whisper, worried that someone would overhear our conversation.

"Look Leo. Our friendship is a secret. We can't be around each other when we're in their presence. Once we enter the throne room, I must separate from you and move to my masters' thrones as much as possible. Don't worry though. I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, their attention is going to be entirely centered on me as they deliver my punishment," Lysias reassured me as he patted me on the back in a friendly manner.

"Fine. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not too happy about this, but I'm doing this for your sake. You owe me one buddy," I declared while sending a pointed look in his direction.

Lysias simply shrugged in response, "Fine by me. I'll meet you here when they request my presence in the throne room, okay?"

I nodded my head to indicate that I understood and silently watched as Lysias walked out of my cell and down the hall.

So much for being "determined" to not allow him to change my mind.

I let out a long, weary sigh and slid down against one of the cell walls. My eyes began to droop with exhaustion and before I knew it, I had slipped into a deep sleep.

 **...** **.** **.**

"LEO, WAKE UP!" was the first thing I heard as I was shaken awake from my slumber.

"Huh? What? What's going on?" was my clever response.

My eyes had snapped wide open in surprise until I realized that Lysias had woken me up. I let out a huge sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding in and my body immediately relaxed.

"Leo, it's time to go to the throne room. They just requested my presence," Lysias explained before lending me a hand and pulling me to my feet.

" _Great_ , let's go have some fun!" I exclaimed sarcastically, prepared to face my doom.

Lysias simply ignored my comment (probably 'cause he was worried- I mean, why else would he ignore an awesome person like me?) and dragged me out of my cell.

After complaining to Lysias about how much I regretted this decision, we _miraculously_ arrived at the double doors of the dreaded throne room.

Despite my constant protests, Lysias dramatically pushed open the double doors, revealing two impatient Primordials sitting upon their thrones. The worst part about being in their presence was the fact that they sent me this look that clearly conveyed one message: they wanted to rip me apart limb from limb.

As quickly as Lysias had thrown the doors wide open, he moved away from me, kneeling at the feet of his masters.

With no one by my side, I awkwardly scurried over to one of the corners of the throne room, trying my best to draw less attention to myself by hiding in the shadows. I guess Nico's been rubbing off on me. I don't know if I should consider that a good thing...

"Lysias, your punishment is almost complete," Tartarus announced in a booming voice.

"What do you mean?" Lysias asked, clearly confused.

As soon as he asked, Tartarus stood up from his throne, making his way over to a strange crystal sphere that I hadn't noticed before. He reached the orb and took it into his hands, bringing it to Lysias, who still looked perplexed.

Tartarus held up the sphere right in front of Lysias's face, before explaining, "Inside this crystal sphere is the soul of an innocent demigod who was residing in Elysium. And the soul's name is Thalia Grace. You might not understand how this affects you, but we're indirectly punishing you through your _friend_ hiding in the corner."

 _Oh no, he knows about our friendship_ _. I'm officially dead._

I couldn't help but to gulp in fear. And then my mind finally registered what he had said. I felt a pang in my heart at the fact that they had imprisoned Thalia as well. Five years of peace in Elysium just to be snatched from her home and unwillingly brought into the most treacherous place in the Greek world.

And then my heart started racing, realizing that they were going to torment me so that they could make Lysias suffer as he watched. I had no clue as to what they were going to do to me, but I had to admit, these two Primordials were actually pretty smart despite their looks.

"Now for the second part of your punishment. Erebus, bring him in!" Tartarus commanded his fellow Primordial.

Erebus instantly slipped off his throne and disappeared behind the double doors of the throne room. We waited for him in uncomfortable silence before he finally returned with the one person I thought I would never see again.

Percy Jackson was standing next to Erebus, his hands and feet shackled with celestial bronze handcuffs.

That was probably why Lysias had never encountered Percy down here in the past five years. It was because he was personally being kept hostage by Tartarus and Erebus themselves.

I wanted to shout out Percy's name, to make him aware of my presence, but I decided to clamp my mouth shut instead. I didn't want to make things worse for him.

"Lysias, this is Percy Jackson, the demigod Leo kept on asking you about. He is one of Leo's closest friends, that's why he means so much to him. As for the second part of your punishment, Leo will be forced to watch the execution of Percy Jackson right before his eyes," Erebus revealed with a devilish smile plastered upon his hideous face.

At the mention of execution, Percy's eyes had widened in disbelief and he began to struggle in an attempt to break free from his chains.

Tartarus unsheathed a sinister-looking, midnight black sword and approached Percy Jackson, one of my greatest friends.

The tears threatened to spill from my eyes. Was all of this real? Was the Great Percy Jackson about to meet his demise once and for all without somehow managing to do the impossible and escape death like he always did?

"Any last words Perseus?" Tartarus inquired with a smirk, most likely thinking about how everything was turning out the way he wanted it to.

"Yes. Leo,-" Percy called out, drawing my full attention to him, "I want you to tell everyone above that I forgive them. Tell them that they no longer have to worry about a pest like me. But most importantly, tell them that Percy Jackson is no more. Goodbye cruel world."

With that final message, a tear silently rolled down Percy's cheek, his broken sea-green eyes showing pain.

"NO!" I screeched, sprinting toward Percy before Tartarus calmly snapped his fingers, causing me to crash into an invisible force field.

"Stay back, demigod!" he growled impatiently.

And with that warning, Tartarus thrust his sword into the chest of Percy Jackson while I shrieked in agony.

Percy's body went slack, his eyes rolling into his head as he crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

Sobs racked my body as I stared with disbelief at the limp corpse of Percy, a pool of blood already surrounding him. He was deathly pale and his chest was no longer rising up and down.

He had stopped breathing.

While I was busy grieving, I wasn't aware of my surroundings, so I obviously didn't hear the distant sound of banging and wailing coming from within the crystal sphere.

I wasn't the only one mourning this loss.

If Thalia was still in Elysium, she would've been fortunate enough to be with Percy's spirit. But much to her luck, she had been captured just like me.

"I hope you rest in peace Percy," I whispered quietly, my voice cracking in the process.

"Foolish boy. Percy Jackson will never rest in peace. In fact, his soul is still here. He belongs to me now! And I have him right where I want him," Tartarus exclaimed with malicious joy.

"WHERE IS HE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND?!" I cried out angrily, my grief transforming into an unrestrained spark of pure fury.

"The weakling now resides in his new, permanent home, in which he will be condemned to eternal torment," Tartarus revealed with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

"Where exactly is his new home?" I asked cautiously, afraid of what his answer might be.

In response, Tartarus proudly pounded his fist against his breastplate before he smugly replied, "He's in my armor, doomed to suffer in agony as he painfully fades and reforms over and over again for all time!"

I was left speechless, my jaw practically on the floor as my brain tried to comprehend all of this new information at once.

When I regained my composure, I was prepared to attack the living daylights out of Tartarus, even though I knew I would probably end up flattened on the ground like an unwanted gnat.

But I never had the chance to take action, because at that moment, I noticed Lysias for the first time since we had entered the throne room.

Even though his hood was covering the majority of his face, I was still able to make out the nauseous look he had.

His slightly green face was scrunched up in agony, his hands were tightly pressed against his skull, and he was hunched over in pain.

Before I could ask what was wrong, Lysias began to sway unsteadily on his feet until he unexpectedly fainted.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I apologize for making you all wait longer than usual** **. I hope you all understand that I'm focusing the majority of my attention on school right now** **. Please leave a review and don't hesitate to leave a comment, question, or concern. Feel free to private message me whenever you want.**

 **Moving on to the most recent reviews!**

Wing: It's a good blog/hiccupdeltarhokappaomicronsigmaf

 **I'm confused** **... What blog are we talking about?**

Wing: I love you！️

 **Yay, love you too my wonderful reader! :)**

Wing: 不Hi！Your story makes me so excited！Please don't give up！

 **Hello! Aww, that's so nice to hear! Trust me, I don't plan to ever abandon this story** **. Thanks for being so generous!**

special guest: Look, i think your fanfic is really awesome, and I decided to translate it into Chinese and post it somewhere else. I'm just wondering if that is allowed. Also, please finish it...

 **That's very nice of you to say. I really appreciate it. Whoa, you want to translate it into Chinese so that other people can read my book? Wow, that is awesome! I give you permission, but please don't forget to give me credit. Oh, and would you mind telling me in the reviews where you're going to post it? I'm just curious. And don't worry. I'm not planning on abandoning this book, so I'll eventually finish it. I'm really excited about what you're going to do! :)**

Guest: NO NO NO! This is all wrong!

 **I know** **. And I'm sorry for making you go through that, but I had to include that scene.**

Isle . Of . Flightless . Birds . 435: This is an awesome story! Don't discontinue (that was a reminder), don't kill Leo (another reminder) and I can't wait to see what will happen when the gods put the pieces together! Have some cookies! (::) (::) (::) (::)

 **Yay, thanks! Yeah, don't worry, I won't abandon this book** **. I can't always keep promises, but I probably won't kill Leo. Key word: PROBABLY. And I can't wait to write that scene! Ooh, thanks! *munches on blue cookies* :)**

azhou1: Totally worth the wait!

 **You always know how to cheer me up! Thanks! :)**

irene2005: I was going to guess Luke but... I don't think it's him anymore.. And it is amazing that you enjoy writing new chapters! It just dawned on me that the first Percy Jackson book The Lightning Thief came out in 2005! Oh My Gods... My heart...

 **Yeah, sorry** **. Thalia's killer isn't Luke. Yeah, it _is_ amazing, especially for me! Wow, "The Lightning Thief" is 12 years old! Which is ironic 'cause Percy is 12 in that book... **

Death Fury: Yeah I meant it in a good way. Great job on the chapter!

 **Phew** **. That's good to hear. Aww, thanks! You're very kind! :)**

As always, please don't forget to leave a review. Love you all! Keep on being awesome people! Until the next update. Peace out my friends! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	12. Separate Spirits

**I'm _really_ sorry. You poor readers have been waiting for far too long. I have many reasons as to why I didn't update sooner, but I'm sure you don't want to hear them. So I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! Love you all! (SHOUTOUT TO azhou1 FOR BETA READING THIS CHAPTER!)**

Chapter 11: Separate Spirits

 **Katie's POV**

It was the morning of our quest. We had just finished eating our breakfast and were patiently waiting for Argus to pull up with the van. Chiron had instructed us to travel to Mount Olympus so that we could have the "privilege" of being thrown into the Pit by those disgusting Olympians.

The silence was beginning to become awkward for Annabeth as she nervously avoided the death glares Nico and I were sending in her direction.

Stupid Annabeth.

Always trying to be the "hero" by volunteering for _every_ single quest.

I was _so_ tempted to tell Chiron to choose someone else in my place, but my mind immediately screamed at me, reminding me that Percy was suffering in Tartarus. So I steeled my nerves and told myself I was going to accept this quest and hopefully rescue Percy from his punishment with the help of Nico.

I bet Annabeth only volunteered so that she could regain her fame. Or maybe she planned on causing Percy even more anguish by shoving her face in front of his so that he could be reminded of the betrayal.

My jaw clenched tightly as I growled angrily at the thought.

If she even dares touch a single hair on his head, she's never going to see the light of day again!

Before my mind could explode from rage, the familiar sight of the camp van approached at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill.

We raced down the hill towards Argus, greeting him and jumping into the back of the van.

The ride toward Olympus was silent. The tension in the air was so thick that it could've been sliced in half with a sword.

After a long, boring car ride through the city, we finally arrived at the Empire State Building and began to pile out of the van.

Before sliding the door closed, I sent Argus a grateful look before telling him, "Thank you for the ride Argus. You know, I don't know why you're so underappreciated. You do so much for the camp, yet you don't receive recognition. Well, I just want you to know that I'm thankful for all you've done for us. Have a safe trip back. Bye."

All of his eyes twinkled with unshed tears before I closed the car door and watched as he drove off.

When the van was completely out of sight, I turned around only to discover that Nico and Annabeth had ditched me. I groaned in annoyance before running into the lobby of the Empire State Building.

Inside, I found them standing by the elevator, waiting for me to rejoin them. Nico was casually holding the special key card used to expose the 600th floor button.

Together, we crammed into the elevator as Nico inserted the key card into the security slot. As soon as he did, the card disappeared and was replaced by a red button displaying "600."

Nico pressed the button, causing it to light up just as the elevator doors closed.

Immediately, our ears were pierced with the sound of horrifyingly terrible elevator music.

 _Are you trying to torture us Apollo?!_

Well, now he's in my list of the top 5 gods I want to murder, so he better keep an eye out, 'cause I will be coming for him. Actually, I had forgotten that he was already in my murder list after he had lied to Zeus to save his godly behind instead of being honest and proving Percy's innocence.

Either way, he's _dead_.

After what seemed like a never-ending eternity of listening to "Friday" by Rebecca Black, the elevator doors finally peeled open with a pleasant _ding!_ **(A/N: No offense to anyone who actually likes this song. I have nothing against it. I just needed a song for this scene.)**

I sighed in relief, knowing that my ears would no longer have to bleed. Honestly, that girl really needs to learn how to sing. Her voice sounds like her nose is stuffed with cotton and the lyrics seem like they were written by a first grader who recently learned about the days of the week. And how difficult is it to choose which car seat you want to take?! Ugh, it's so annoying!

Taking my mind off of that awful song, I focused my attention on my surroundings. Spread out before us were countless of newly constructed Greek-style buildings that were designed by the worst girlfriend in existence, also known as Annabeth. Past all of these buildings was the "mighty" palace of the gods sitting atop a mountain.

I was the first one to step out of the elevator, briskly making my way up the main road that led to the grand palace.

I didn't bother to glance around, even though many of the citizens were throwing me strange looks as I marched angrily up the mountain. I didn't understand why I was suddenly brimming with so much fury. Maybe it was because I was about to be in the presence of the beings who banished my cousin.

From behind, I could hear Nico and Annabeth rushing to catch up with me since I was literally speed walking.

"Katie? You mind slowing down a bit?"

"Sure Nico. Sorry about that," I answered before stopping in my tracks and turning around to face them as I waited for them to reach me.

If Annabeth had asked me that, I would have ignored her and increased my speed instead. But since Nico had asked, I didn't mind slowing down for him 'cause he was a true friend.

Once Nico was by my side, I began to walk again, but at a much slower pace than before.

By the time we reached the palace, I was extremely annoyed. I really wanted to punch someone, preferably Annabeth. If the gods knew we were coming, why couldn't they have just flashed us into the throne room instead of making us walk the entire way up the mountain?!

 _Not even my own mother was kind enough to bring us here._

With that bitter thought, I pushed open the extra set of double doors reserved for mortals, revealing twelve giant-sized beings sitting on their thrones, obviously waiting for us.

I had a deep scowl etched on my face, which my _mother_ immediately noticed. A worried look began to appear on her face.

 _If you truly cared about me, you would've defended Percy!_

I tore my gaze away from her, refocusing my eyes on the Drama King who was waiting for us to bow or kneel before his presence.

I simply bowed mockingly, but he was too prideful to notice that I was disrespecting him.

The sky god cleared his throat dramatically, rising from his throne as he commanded, "Demigods, recite the prophecy for your quest!"

Annabeth, being the obedient daughter of Athena she is, immediately obliged.

 ** _"Three Greek half-bloods will travel alone,_**

 ** _To the Pit they shall be thrown._**

 ** _The parallel Primordial of Chaos lies below,_**

 ** _And His power will begin to grow._**

 ** _One must convince Him to return,_**

 ** _Or suffer by watching the world burn."_**

When Annabeth finished, Demeter suddenly jumped from her throne, a horrified look on her pale face.

"NO! I am not going to let my daughter enter that atrocious Pit! I don't want to lose her!" Demeter exclaimed as tears began to form in her eyes.

The gods around her rushed to restrain her, roughly pushing her back into her throne and holding her in place so that she wouldn't try anything.

Zeus, once again, opened his mouth to speak.

"Demeter, I'm afraid that she must enter the Pit. The three demigods for this quest have already been chosen, and Katie's one of them. You can't alter Fate."

"Besides-" Athena joined in, an annoyed expression on her face, "this is the second time _my_ daughter is going down into that Pit and you don't see _me_ complaining."

For a split second, pain flashed through Annabeth's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

Had I imagined it?

Probably not, but why should I care about someone like her?

She deserves to feel pain. Much more pain than what poor Percy felt.

"Can you hurry up?" By now, I was extremely irritated and I just wanted to get as far away as possible from these arrogant Olympians, even if it meant being thrown into Tartarus.

"Very well then, Katie," Zeus replied before he conjured up his master bolt and thrust it in the area directly in front of my feet.

When the lightning bolt collided with the floor, it immediately opened up, leading down into pure darkness. The chasm was obviously an entrance to Tartarus.

"The prophecy states that these three demigods must be thrown into the Pit. Which god or goddess volunteers for this task?" Zeus asked the other Olympians.

The gods were hesitant, but eventually, one of them began to slowly raise their hand.

Ares.

Of course he would be the one to volunteer. The dude likes violence, especially when it involves throwing helpless demigods into the evilest place known to the Greek world.

He rose from his throne and made his way toward us, a wicked grin beginning to stretch across his face.

Ares lifted us onto the palm of his left hand, randomly choosing Nico from our little trio. He then proceeded to hold Nico in a throwing position.

 _'I_ _hope Ares isn't crushing Nico too tightly in his grip. The poor kid needs to_ _breathe,'_ I thought sympathetically.

Ares proceeded to turn his gaze toward his father, expectantly waiting for a signal that would allow him to continue.

A slight nod from Zeus granted him the permission he needed.

With great enthusiasm, Ares pulled back his arm and then swung it forward, releasing Nico from his grasp in the process. Nico immediately went flying through the air and toppled into the chasm in front of us.

He disappeared from sight as soon as he entered the wide gap in the floor.

Surprisingly, not a single sound whatsoever escaped from the lips of Nico di Angelo as he fell into the abyss.

I almost yelped in surprise when I was grabbed by my shirt from behind by the world's largest set of fingers.

It was my turn to be thrown and I was already regretting my decision.

Before I could take a deep breath to steel my nerves, I was thrust into motion.

My surroundings became a foggy blur and soon I was desperately waving my arms in the air as my body was flung forward.

I went airborne and then the next thing my mind registered was that I was free-falling through pure darkness toward my imminent doom.

The only thing I was pretty much worried about at the moment was accidentally kicking or punching Nico who was somewhere below me.

Hopefully, none of those scenarios happen.

"Nico?" I called into the darkness below.

I didn't receive an answer, but that was probably because I couldn't hear anything in the first place.

In fact, I couldn't even hear myself.

I didn't know how long we would fall for, but I forced myself to avoid thinking about time.

Instead, I focused on the thought of Percy and what we would encounter below.

Would we come across strange monsters never before seen? The idea unnerved me, but I had a feeling we would get through this... alive that is.

A drawing pad and coloring utensils were in the backpack I had slung over my shoulders. You see, I'm an artist. I found out I had a knack for drawing last year.

I was debating whether or not I should take them out and sketch something to pass the time, but I realized how dumb the idea was.

If I couldn't even see my hands, how could I draw something without seeing what I was drawing?

As I gave up on that idea, I realized just how precious being in the company of others truly was.

I was alone and dying of boredom.

Hours seemed to drift by slowly until a tiny orange-red square of light appeared somewhere below me.

My heart began to race uncontrollably. I didn't know if it was because I was terrified of landing in the Pit of unknown evils or excited about the possibility of finding Percy.

Before long, I sensed a change in the atmosphere. The temperature seemed to drop below zero and the air became dry.

During the rest of my descent, the square of light noticeably expanded.

Before my mind registered what was happening, the darkness around me disappeared and was replaced by a treacherous cavern. I warily glanced above me while I was plummeting to my death and surprisingly couldn't find the opening I had fallen from.

Fear began to bubble up within me as I realized I was going to become a flat pancake once I reached the ground. A shriek of terror escaped from my lips as the ground rushed up to meet me.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the unbearable pain to overwhelm me.

But after waiting for an entire minute, I was confused as to why I hadn't been smacked to death.

Cautiously, I opened one eye, and then the other.

Annabeth and Nico were directly on my left, which surprised me because they hadn't made a single sound.

I quickly inspected them to make sure they were alright when I noticed for the first time that their feet weren't touching the ground.

Slowly, I shifted my gaze to my own feet, yelping in surprise at the realization that I was floating in mid-air as well.

How was this possible?

Fortunately for me, I received my answer when a figure stepped out from the shadows directly in front of me.

* * *

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

Empty darkness.

It had completely engulfed me in its embrace.

Was I dead?

Probably not, but I couldn't even feel my own body.

The only thing I could remember before fainting was the innocent death of Leo's friend. I hated myself for not being able to do anything to prevent it.

What kind of friend was I?

Tartarus was right. I _am_ useless. No one can count on me.

But something about Percy's death had bothered me.

Have you ever felt like you were in two places at once?

That's exactly what I felt. It was as if my body was split into two and I was seeing through two sets of eyes.

Call it freaky, but it actually happened.

One second I was in my own body, and then the next I was directly in front of Tartarus, waiting for my death.

For some strange reason, this body-switching experience happened every time I blinked.

And then when Tartarus thrust his sword into the chest of Percy Jackson, I somehow shared the pain with him.

My own chest had ached and throbbed fiercely.

And then the pain had spread to both my head and stomach.

A piercing migraine had engulfed my head and it had felt like my stomach was doing somersaults, violently bouncing up and down within me. I was even close to throwing up right then and there. But then a new sensation had overwhelmed my body when Tartarus announced that Percy's soul had been added into his armor.

It was as if my insides had been ripped apart and then slapped back together in a split second.

And after that, all I could remember was clutching my head in pain before darkness consumed me.

Suddenly, a horrible thought struck me that made my skin crawl.

If I'm in some sort of unconscious realm, that means that Leo is alone with Tartarus and Erebus out in the real world...

Oh no.

A seed of despair began to plant itself within me, eventually causing me to hyperventilate.

I wanted to escape the darkness that never seemed to end no matter which direction I turned. But how do you break out from your own mind?

Hours seemed to drift by before a blinding light flickered into existence. A sliver of hope was reignited in the pit of my stomach. I immediately jumped to my feet, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Without any precaution whatsoever, I slowly began to approach the light. Something about it was irresistible and dangerously attractive. Much to my horror, I couldn't stop my own feet from moving towards it.

I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

That's probably the most pathetic thing I have ever compared myself to.

Brushing aside that random thought, I awaited my possible doom as I embraced the light.

As soon as I made contact with it, my vision was immediately clouded with a blinding whiteness.

 **...** **...**

"Lysias? Can you hear me?"

"Huh? Leo, is that you?" I asked, hoping that I was actually conscious again.

"Yeah, it's me. You scared me back in the throne room. Please don't do that to me ever again," Leo pleaded, a slight hint of terror in his voice.

I finally managed to pry my eyes open, only to be greeted by the brown eyes of Leo Valdez staring right into mine.

"I'll try not to, but I can't promise you that. Anyway, where are we? And what happened to you while I was unconscious? Are you okay?" I questioned at full speed.

"Whoa! One question at a time, dude. First of all, we're in my prison cell. And Tartarus locked us both in here while you were out cold. And I'm fine. Nothing really happened to me," Leo explained calmly, which lifted some stress off my shoulders.

"Really? You're not playing some kind of joke on me? 'Cause last time I checked, Tartarus doesn't let the opportunity to punish someone slip away that easily," I asked, completely confused about the situation.

"Yeah, I'm not making it up. He just brought us here and that was it. Maybe he was just tired or something," Leo tried to reassure me.

"The guy's a Primordial. I don't really think they get 'tired,'" I pointed out.

"Good point. But maybe we should just try to forget about the entire thing," Leo suggested, his face clearly sending the message that he didn't want to think of the different ways he could be transformed into Tartarus's personal chew toy.

"Wait a second. Leo, remember how Poseidon is a couple cells down from yours?" I asked as an amusing idea popped into my head.

"Yeah... Why? What are you planning?" Leo questioned, sending an intense look of suspicion in my direction.

I could literally feel his piercing eyes trying to burn through my head. "I say we either torture him or prank him. What do you say?"

Immediately, the look Leo was giving me vanished.

With a devilish grin on his face, Leo responded, "Let's prank him!"

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Come on!" I exclaimed before grabbing his arm and literally dragging him out of his cell and into the dark hallway.

The closer we got to Poseidon's cell, the slower and quieter we became. By the time we finally reached the cell door, we were practically tiptoeing.

I leaned toward Leo and whispered into his ear as quietly as possible, "I'm going to shadow travel us into the cell, okay?"

Leo nodded in response before I placed a hand on his shoulder and we slipped into the shadows.

When we reappeared on the other side of the cell door, I noticed that Poseidon was sprawled on the floor. His back was facing us and he didn't show any sign he had sensed our presence. I approached him slowly, removing a hidden dagger from my sleeve in the process.

Once I was directly behind him, I crouched down, placing the dagger on the back of Poseidon's neck and drawing blood. "Surprise!"

Immediately, Poseidon comically sat up at the speed of lightning and shrieked in pain, clutching his now bloody neck.

I chuckled to myself and noticed that Leo had a crazy grin on his face.

In that moment, my eyes darted across the room. Random, broken objects were strewn about all over the place.

"I see you've been trying to escape. Am I right, Poseidon?" I snarled accusingly.

His eyes glinted with fear, but he nodded his head in agreement. It's a good thing these cells render captives powerless.

Out of nowhere, I gripped Poseidon by the hem of his Hawaiian T-shirt, lifting him off the ground and bringing his face in front of my own. "Be prepared, you sea scum. Tomorrow is when the fun truly begins."

The god of the sea visibly gulped before I released him and he dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

"Not so brave without your powers, huh? You coward." And with those wonderful words, Leo and I walked out of his cell and slammed the door shut with a loud _bang!_

Once we were out of earshot, Leo stopped me in my tracks. I sent him a look of confusion before he brought something to my attention.

"Thalia Grace, my currently dead friend, is in the throne room. Do you know if she's alone?" His brown eyes sparkled with hope.

This aroused my curiosity. "Probably. I mean, my masters usually don't stay in there too long. Why?"

"I'm thinking of setting a rescue mission into motion. Will you help me?" Leo pleaded while pouting in the process.

 _Eh, what the heck._

"Sure thing dude. When are we going on this mission?" I had a feeling he wasn't going to wait until tomorrow.

My suspicions were confirmed when a mischievous grin spread across his face before responding, "Right now."

With obvious cheerfulness, I let myself be pulled along toward the throne room. Before long, we were standing directly in front of the grand throne room doors. With only hope by my side, I pushed them open, praying that the Primordials weren't in there.

I guess it was my lucky day 'cause the place was dark and empty.

Sighing in relief, I glided across the room, stealthily making my way over to the glowing, spherical prison that encased the soul of Leo's friend.

Making sure no one was hiding somewhere nearby, I grabbed the orb and literally ran out of the throne room. At that point, I no longer had a care in the world about how much noise I was making.

On my way out, I rushed past Leo without so much as a glance, more concerned about my own safety at the moment.

Eventually he caught up though, which was a good thing, 'cause I didn't want him to die.

Once we were safely back in Leo's cell, I handed over the sphere to him. "Are you going to free her?"

He nodded and proceeded to lift the orb above his head before bringing it back down and smashing it against the ground.

There was a loud shattering sound as the shards of glass furiously scattered on the floor. Thankfully, Thalia's soul was perfectly fine.

Before I had a chance to blink, Thalia's shimmering form enlarged up until the point she was at the height of an average teenage girl.

"Thanks for saving me. But what exactly am I supposed to do now? Fly out of here?" Thalia suggested sarcastically.

"Um, _no_. Tartarus can sense everything that enters and exits his Pit. He'll snatch your soul before you even get anywhere near the surface. He won't place you in a nice prison cell next time though. Watch your back. You're ten times more delicate as a ghost," I cautiously warned her.

"So what do you want us to do? She can't exactly hide around in my cell," Leo pointed out.

An idea popped up in my head, but it probably wasn't the best one available. It was pretty stupid, but it just might work.

"Why don't you reside within one of us? That way you're not freely roaming around," I suggested awkwardly.

"That sounds weird. But okay then," Thalia shrugged nonchalantly.

"Who's it going to be? You or me?" Leo shot me a nervous glance.

"I hate to say this Thalia, but I think I'm your only option. Leo's life is in the hands of Tartarus, so he can die at any moment. Tartarus and Erebus need me though, so they have no option but to keep me alive." Thalia winced for a split second and then nodded her head in understanding.

"My life just gets better and better!" Thalia sarcastically blurted out.

"But aren't you dead?" I stupidly asked.

"No duh! It's just an expression. Use that brain of yours Seaw-" Thalia roughly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you were someone else," Thalia muttered apologetically.

"It's uh, it's fine." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Anyway, you should probably move into my head."

"Yeah, I probably should, no matter how weird that sounds." Thalia prepared to float into my head before I stopped her.

"Wait! I have a couple of rules I want to go over. One, please don't snoop through my memories. It makes me uncomfortable. Two, respect my privacy. And three, just don't mess around with anything in there."

"So you're basically saying I can't do anything. Great! What do you expect me to do? Sit around all day?"

I blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah sure. Sounds good!"

"I was being sarcastic, dimwit." I simply held my hands up in surrender before Thalia dissolved into a fine mist and slipped into my head.

The cold sensation was strange and caused me to involuntarily shudder. Shivers ran up and down my spine, but the feeling vanished as quickly as it had started.

Mentally, I asked, _'Thalia, you in there?'_

 _'Yeah. Now shut up. I'm trying to get comfortable.'_

And with that super nice comment, I shut out what was happening in my mind and returned my attention to the external world.

Leo was looking at me strangely, as if I had grown 2 heads. "That was probably the creepiest thing I've ever seen."

I ignored him and voiced the question I'd been meaning to ask, "Do you know how she died?"

"No. All I know is that Percy was falsely accused of murdering her," Leo growled angrily.

 _'I can tell you if you want.'_ Thalia's voice murmured in my head.

 _'I thought you didn't want to talk to me.'_

 _'Do you want the answer or not?'_ Her annoyed tone pierced through my thoughts and made me wince.

 _'YES! Please.'_ I mentally face palmed at how desperate I sounded.

 _'That cloaked idiot that kidnapped me and brought me down here murdered me during a capture the flag game.'_

 _'What cloaked idiot?'_ My curiosity got the best of me.

 _'You seriously don't know? I kind of thought you did. I'm talking about the stupid Primordial you serve. Tartarus was the one who killed me,'_ Thalia revealed much to my surprise.

 _'How do you know for sure it was him?'_

 _'I have my ways. Plus, I'm a very observant person,'_ Thalia pridefully explained.

I felt my fists clench at my sides as a low growl escaped my lips. How had I not known about this?

 _'Well, thanks for letting me know.'_

 _'No problem. I'm gonna wander around. Talk to you later.'_ And with that, I felt Thalia fade farther into my head.

An unexpected jolt of electricity coursed throughout my body, causing me to yelp and drop onto one knee.

Leo ran up to me, frantically asking, "Lysias, you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It happens whenever something or someone enters the Pit."

"Do you know what or who entered?"

"Yeah. 3 demigods. One's a guy. The other two are girls. I feel like you might know them," I informed him.

"Can we find out who they specifically are?" Leo asked curiously, excitement perceptible in his voice.

"Why not? Besides, I have a feeling I know where they're going to land." I could practically feel the grin spreading across my face.

 **...**

"Looks like we're just in time, Leo." I nudged him on the shoulder, pointing at the three figures falling toward the ground at high speeds.

"Dude, don't let them fall to their deaths!" Leo scolded me.

"Don't worry. I got this under control." Just as I said that, the demigods were about to collide with the ground before I froze them in midair.

Perks of being the champion of two evil Primordials.

Leo was on my left and we were hiding behind a massive boulder, so they hadn't seen us yet.

The dark-haired girl of the trio yelped in surprise, noticing that gravity wasn't pulling her down.

"Leo, I'm going to shadow travel in front of them. I want you to stay behind this boulder until I call for you, okay?"

Leo simply nodded before I slipped into the shadows, reappearing in front of the dark-haired girl.

Immediately, the girl with blonde princess curls, who I recognized as the demigod that wrestled with me at the camp, yelled out accusingly, "You again!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that how you greet people?"

"No. I just don't like you."

"Well, I'm glad to know the feeling is mutual. But that's not why I'm here. Look, I know you don't trust me after the incident at your camp, but I want you to know that I don't mean any harm. If you don't believe me, I brought a friend of yours along with me. LEO! Time to come out!" I called out over my shoulder.

Leo's head shyly peeked out from behind his hiding spot, which was adorably funny 'cause he was anything but shy.

He then completely slipped out, spreading his arms wide open. "Miss me?"

Much to Leo's disappointment, I lowered the demigods onto the ground and unfroze them, allowing the feisty girl with brown hair to tackle Leo and repeatedly punch him in the face.

"I'M SORRY, KATIE! I don't want to die!" Leo wailed before the feisty girl now identified as Katie decided to give him mercy and got off of him.

"LEO. UNKNOWN MIDDLE NAME. VALDEZ. Do you know how worried I was?!" Katie seethed with rage.

"Ooh, bringing out the full names. Leo's in trouble," I teased mockingly.

That was a stupid mistake on my part 'cause Katie immediately turned her angry glare on me, pointing an accusing finger at my chest. "I wouldn't be talking if I were you, _mister_. You're the one who kidnapped Leo in the first place. I couldn't sleep on most nights because of what _you_ did!"

"Look who's busted now," Leo taunted under his breath out of fear that Katie would turn on him again.

I simply gulped and replied, "Yes ma'am."

She shot me one last terrifying glare that had the potential to kill before rejoining the trio.

"So, what now?" the girl with blond hair questioned.

"Well, I have to get you all out of here before Tartarus decides to get involved. He already knows you're here. And he might be listening," I whispered in the lowest of whispers.

"Don't you work for him though? How do we know you're not going to take us directly to him?" The gray-eyed girl asked suspiciously.

"Is Leo not enough proof? You can ask- GAH! He's coming!" I yelled out before frantically telling everyone to hold hands.

I then proceeded to shadow travel us all to a new location. We were inside an empty cave I had discovered while searching for a way to escape the Pit.

I checked to make sure everyone was here and sighed in relief when I counted 4 heads.

"Don't worry guys. We're safe in here for awhile."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping us?" Katie asked with obvious confusion.

"'Cause I'm sick and tired of being their puppet. They're only using me. They don't care about me at all. That's why I'm tired of being the obedient little servant who always follows their orders. I'm tired of doing what they want. I'm tired of saying yes. I'm not fighting for them. No, not anymore," I explained in a bitter tone.

"But won't they punish you severely?" Leo questioned with concern.

"Yes. But I don't want to live in fear anymore. I want to run free. And I have a plan." A wicked grin began to stretch across my face.

"And what is that plan?" Leo was practically in my face by now.

"I can't tell you. Or else _you-know-who_ will find out. But if I start acting hostile toward any of you, just remember it's part of my plan. It won't mean I'm betraying you though," I warned them in advance.

"Okay, moving on. Why are you all here?" Leo asked the trio.

Katie was the one who spoke up. "We're here on a quest. We're supposed to find and convince an unknown Primordial to reunite with Chaos to prevent the entire universe from ceasing to exist. You know, it's no biggie," Katie sarcastically explained.

I sensed she wasn't telling me everything. "Your best option at the moment is Nyx. Her mansion isn't far from here. But is that the only reason why you're down here?"

With a sigh, Katie confessed, "No. We're also here to try and rescue both Leo and Percy. Percy is a demigod hero who was banished down here about five years ago. Since you've probably been down here for such a long time, do you happen to know where Percy is? He has messy jet black hair and sea-green eyes."

I immediately glanced at Leo nervously. He gave me a look that clearly said he would tell them.

"Um, Katie?" Leo's nervous tone caught her attention.

"What's the matter, Leo?" Her concern was quite noticeable.

Leo exhaled a shaky sigh.

"I hate to say this Katie, but Percy's dead."

* * *

 **Unknown POV**

I spotted Athena coming out of her temple and ran after her. "Athena! I have some top secret information I want to share with you."

"Yes?" the goddess of wisdom asked expectantly as she turned around to face me.

"You remember Lysias, right?"

"Of course I do. What do you know about the boy?" Athena questioned with a curious glint in her piercing gray eyes.

"I will tell you. But first, you must swear on the River Styx that you will not tell anyone, especially Zeus, what I'm about to reveal to you," I urged her solemnly.

Athena raised an eyebrow with obvious suspicion, but she was clever enough to know that I wouldn't tell her anything unless she swore.

With a small sigh, Athena nodded her head in understanding.

"I, Athena, goddess of wisdom, swear on the River Styx that I will not share the information I'm about to hear with anyone, especially Zeus."

The sound of thunder that boomed around us officially sealed her oath.

Athena proceeded to cross her arms, expectantly waiting for me to spill the beans.

"Lysias is Percy Jackson."

 **I hope I answered some of your questions in this chapter. Like how Tartarus was Thalia's killer. But I have a task for you all. Create a theory as to what you think happened between Lysias and Fake Percy and share it in the reviews. And try to guess who the unknown POV belongs to.**

 **Moving on to reviews!**

CandyK1ng24: I am so confused... Is Percy dead or alive. I THINK that the "dead" Percy is a fake. I think he's a mirage. Lysias is still Percy. Also, WHO IS THALIA'S KILLER?! You are an amazing writer and I can't get enough of this story. Amazing plot! PLEASE UPDATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Thanks for writing!

 **I already private messaged you about this. But once again, thanks for the generous compliment! And thank you for reading my book and giving it a chance! Sorry for keeping you waiting. Stay awesome! :)**

irene2005: Haha! That is ironic.. I haven't thought of it like that. Also, why would you do this to my heart?! You evilly amazing person!

 **Yep, _very_ ironic. And I'm sorry about your heart. Here's some blue cookies to heal your soul. (:::) It's not my fault. Most authors can't resist being evil. But you're amazing too! :)**

azhou1: Is this getting me back for Nyssa...? Great chapter by the way. Never would've thought that you would kill one of the main characters.

 **Nope. Has nothing to do with Nyssa. But thanks for the constant support! Well, I technically didn't kill Percy... Oh, and thank you so much for beta reading this chapter! You are freaking awesome! :)**

Death Fury: Great job!

 **Thanks for reading and boosting my spirits! :)**

Thank you all for reading and I will do my best to update again. Don't forget to leave a review. And don't hesitate to ask me any questions! Love you all! Keep on being amazhang! Have a wonderful day/afternoon/night!

-BlueFangirlStreak


	13. Mindless Minion

**Sorry about the slow updates. Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2018 has been proving to be a better year so far. Hope you enjoy! :)**

Chapter 12: Mindless Minion

 **Leo's POV**

Katie's face rippled with many different emotions at once. But the one emotion that stood out the most was grief.

I could tell she was trying to stay strong. Either for herself or for us.

Annabeth didn't take it too well though. She was a hot mess. As soon as the news spilled out of my mouth, she let out a strangled sob and excused herself before momentarily stepping out of the cave.

A few seconds later, we heard the sounds of vomiting coming from outside.

After that she didn't want to come back in. She simply curled up into a ball right next to her nauseating puddle of barf.

She didn't even want to talk to anyone either.

I was kind of okay with that though 'cause we were technically no longer friends.

Katie breathed in and out slowly, trying to stay calm and cool.

But then she also got up and went deeper into the cave. We weren't able to see her anymore, but we could all clearly hear the loud thuds. She was obviously releasing her emotions through violence. She had to let it all out in one way or another.

And then there's Nico. How could I put this into words?

Well, the poor kid turned even paler than usual if that was possible. His eyes seemed to lose a bit of the light that existed within them.

And then he froze, as if paralyzed.

He didn't move from his spot. He simply just stared off into space motionlessly.

As usual, he showed no emotion. I guess everyone had their own ways of coping with grief.

On the other hand, Lysias and I respectfully kept our distance, sitting in a dark corner of the cave.

We didn't speak. The silence was unnerving.

How could I comfort the trio? There was no way I would ever be able to do this. No joke in this world would bring a smile to their faces in a moment like this.

Right when I began to weigh my options, Lysias pushed himself off of the ground wordlessly.

I was about to ask him where he was going, but he walked away from me. I was almost about to yell out "Rude much?", but immediately bit my tongue when I noticed what he was doing.

Lysias walked over to Katie in the obscure distance, engaging in a secretive conversation that I wasn't able to eavesdrop on.

Curiously, I watched as best I could. Out of nowhere, they shared a hug that completely caught me off guard. What the heck just happened between them?

The suspense was freaking killing me! I had to know what was going on or else I would _die_.

Together, they slowly made their way back to the rest of us. I noticed that Katie no longer looked like she was going to explode into tears at any moment.

In fact, she had a small smile on her face.

I seriously wonder what Lysias could have possibly told her that would have this effect on her. The girl had such a fierce spirit.

"Katie, why the change of mood all of a sudden?" I teased jokingly, only to receive a death glare.

But then she surprised me when her glare melted into a genuine smile. "It's just, I didn't know Lysias could be so uplifting. I mean, he would make an awesome motivational speaker!"

I raised my eyebrow at this, but didn't make a sarcastic remark.

I casually strolled over toward Lysias and muttered into his ear, "Since when did you become so inspirational? All you seem to do around me is drown in your sorrows and rant about your miserable life."

Instead of giving me the evil eye like I expected, Lysias simply chuckled. "She looked like she needed some comfort and reassurance. I had to do something."

I shrugged nonchalantly in reply before plopping back onto the ground.

"STYX! Everybody scatter!" Lysias cried out in alarm before everyone did as they were told.

I threw myself behind the nearest boulder, expecting to see some sort of monster. Instead, I saw something worse.

I was confused as to why Lysias had wanted us to scatter until my eyes landed on the Primordial.

Tartarus.

He was holding Lysias in a choke-hold, obviously furious about Lysias's disobedience.

"You will come with me boy and you will learn how to obey. Say goodbye to your _friend_ , demigods!" Tartarus hissed before being engulfed by shadows.

The last thing we heard before they completely vanished was Lysias's yelp of fear.

And then they were no more.

They were gone. Tartarus had _actually_ taken Lysias.

He would be punished.

And we were to blame.

 **...**

Katie took it the worst.

She was frustrated with the fact that the people she warmed up to were constantly stripped from her life.

First, she had lost Percy Jackson.

And now?

Lysias, a friendly stranger she had just met, had been taken from her in order to be punished.

She blamed herself for all of this, for this mess, saying that it was all her fault. She couldn't forgive herself for something she had _no control_ over.

Katie even started to believe she was carrying some sort of curse. We told her it was nonsense.

But did she believe us? Of course not! That girl could be stubborn when she wanted to.

Shortly after witnessing the capture of Lysias, we decided to somehow trespass into Tartarus's headquarters and rescue Lysias.

Obviously this meant I had to lead the way, since I was the only one who knew where Tartarus kept his palace. Perks of being a former prisoner/Lysias's friend.

Along the way, we were mostly worried about what kind of punishment Tartarus had in mind for Lysias.

A certain phrase kept repeating itself, constantly echoing throughout my head.

 _Say goodbye to your_ friend _, demigods!_

What was that supposed to mean? Was Tartarus planning on killing Lysias once and for all? Of finally getting rid of him?

It was unlikely, but you could never be too sure with insanely evil deities.

But Lysias said they need him alive no matter what, so he's probably okay for now.

I was deeply buried in my thoughts that I didn't notice the edge of the cliff I was about to fall off of.

Thankfully, Katie yanked me backward before I could plummet to my _wonderful_ death.

"Watch your step, dork!"

"You meant to call me Supersized McShizzle, right?"

"Nope. Not a mistake on my part, Repair Boy," Katie countered with her arms crossed and a defiant look in her eyes.

I sadly couldn't think of anything else to say, so I simply gave her one of my signature pouts.

She responded by smacking me on the head.

" _Ouch!_ What was that for?! Sheesh, Katie," I whined, rubbing my head.

By the time we spotted the towering palace of Tartarus in the near distance, we were covered in minor cuts and bruises.

Did I mention we were having trouble breathing the intoxicating air?

No? Well, now you know! Oh, and to top it all off with a nice cherry, we were ambushed.

Let's just say we came across a pack of hellhounds along with a giant cyclops.

Let me tell you, _not_ a fun experience.

I nearly died a couple of times, but that's normal for a demigod.

Together we raced in the direction of the gloomy palace, coming to a stop right in front of the outer palace walls.

And then we glanced at each other, asking a silent question.

How were we going to sneak in?

I mean, we didn't have a plan.

And that's when I knew who to turn to for help.

I slowly turned my gaze to Annabeth, who immediately seemed to realize what I wanted from her.

She sighed in frustration. "Ugh, fine! You guys only acknowledge me when you need me," she grumbled the last part.

"Okay, here's the only plan I could come up with at the moment. First, we're going to search the perimeter of the palace walls for any openings we can slip through. Then, Leo will lead us to the throne room. If Lysias is in there all by himself, we'll grab him and run," Annabeth explained.

"Wait, why the throne room? Why not the dungeon or something like that? And what if Lysias isn't alone when we find him?" I asked with utter confusion.

This was the first time in my life I actually found flaws in one of Annabeth's plans. It surprised, yet worried me. And there was no way I was going to tease her about it. I appreciate living, thank you very much.

Annabeth gave me a look that clearly asked, _Are you stupid?_

"A dungeon is not used for punishments. Its only purpose is to lock up prisoners. Besides, they seem to make all their important decisions in the throne room, am I right? You should know this out of all people. And if Lysias isn't completely alone, then we'll have no choice but to start fighting. It's common sense, Leo," Annabeth scoffed rudely.

I was _so_ tempted to smack that smug look off her face, but I've seen this girl fight. I'm not gonna let her screw up my handsome face.

"Fine, let's go search for that entrance, blondie," I muttered under my breath.

Thank the gods she didn't hear the mocking nickname.

And with that comment, we set out to search for a super sneaky entrance.

 **…**

I could feel the sweat sliding down my face. I was running for my life.

We hadn't been super sneaky as we had originally planned (mostly 'cause of me).

I mean, it wasn't my fault I couldn't hold back my sneeze. Annabeth didn't think that was a great excuse.

I'd like to see her try, but whatever.

We were being chased by cyclopes who looked very eager to devour demigod flesh. Of course Tartarus had stupid guards protecting the palace from intruders.

The throne room doors came into view. With a final burst of speed, I raced toward the doors and slammed them open with my right shoulder.

I collapsed on the ground immediately, a burning hot pain searing through my shoulder. A helpless yelp of pain slipped past my lips. I cradled and rubbed my shoulder as much as I could while rolling around in pain.

I was wondering why the cyclopes hadn't devoured us yet. But when I looked up from my position on the ground, my heart skipped a beat.

Tartarus and Erebus were glaring in our direction while Lysias, who was between them, stared emotionlessly into space.

I found that really strange in a creepy way.

"Leave us!" Tartarus commanded his guards.

And with a look of defeat plastered on their faces, the cyclopes sullenly left the room, grunting on their way out.

I waved my hand to try and gain Lysias's attention, but he didn't acknowledge my presence.

"Lysias?"

I was met with silence.

"What's wrong with him? What have you done to him?" Fear was gripping my heart.

"Oh, he's perfectly fine, Leo. We've simply removed the part of his body we hate the most."

"And what would that be?" Katie questioned in a steely voice.

She was obviously trying to contain her fury.

"His brain, of course!" Erebus announced with an unnecessary amount of glee.

I nearly choked on my saliva. I forgot how to breathe for a moment.

"How is he still alive then?" Annabeth asked the question we all probably wanted the answer to.

"We are Primordials. The first children of the almighty Chaos! Your disgusting human science claims that it is impossible to survive without a brain, but that silly nonsense doesn't apply to the Greek world. If it is our will to keep Lysias alive, then he will stay alive no matter what! Our ancient magic, our power is what's preventing him from dying," Tartarus explained with obvious arrogance.

"You've literally made him into your personal puppet, haven't you? Such great _fathers_ you guys are," I accused them bitterly.

Tears were threatening to spill. I was trying so hard to retain them. Lysias didn't deserve to belong in a family that treated him like this. That took away his free will.

"That's the thing, Leo Valdez. We only adopted him as our son so that he could belong to us. He is our property. We have the power and authority to do whatever we want with him. And none of you weaklings can stop us!" Erebus growled at us, his eyes glowing with eerie, fiery red flames.

His tone clearly suggested that he didn't like being bossed around by anyone.

"No wonder he kept disobeying you guys! You're total control freaks!" I spat in disgust.

I immediately regretted insulting them.

Just as I was 100% positively sure they were going to blast me into oblivion, something worse happened.

Their faces split into identical, maniacal grins, which obviously meant nothing but trouble for me.

They were clearly up to something.

 _Now that I think about it, I probably have a similar grin whenever I set up a prank…_

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. ADHD sure was annoying during serious situations.

"Now that he's our mindless warrior, he obeys our every command. He can no longer think for himself without his brain. I warned you to say bye to your friend for good. Now it's too late. You can't do anything to stop us. Think about it. No matter what you try to do, you'll _always_ fail," Tartarus sneered with an aura of pride.

"He's right," A small voice spoke up from behind me.

Apparently, it had come from Annabeth, whose face was unnaturally pale.

"I mean, I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble, but I'm afraid they're right. If we manage to escape with Lysias, he'll still be brainless. And even if we manage to escape with both Lysias _and_ his brain, none of us are brain surgeons. None of us can properly replant it without causing any further damage. And if we try to escape without him, they'll eventually catch us. There's no escape from the Pit," Annabeth sighed heavily after making us all feel depressed.

"See? Even the wisdom spawn agrees," Erebus mocked.

Katie wasn't going to give up that easily though. I could tell just by looking at the fiery glint in her eyes.

"GIVE ME BACK MY FRIEND!" Katie screeched as she launched herself at Tartarus and attempted to strangle him to death.

She probably would've succeeded, especially since she caught him by surprise.

I would've laughed at the face Tartarus was making, but then the totally awesome scene was interrupted by the shadow lord/idiot named Erebus.

 _Thanks for ruining the fun, you jerk!_

Much to Tartarus's relief, Erebus yanked poor Katie off of him and blasted her into the nearest wall.

Nico immediately ran to her aid to help her up while glaring at the Primordials.

"You want your friend, _little girl?!_ Fine. If that's what you want, you can have him!" Tartarus exploded after regaining his composure.

He immediately turned to his mindless warrior and gave him a single command.

"Lysias, I order you to kill every last one of them. Why don't you enjoy some quality time with our champion, demigods? He's all yours," Tartarus cackled with delight before flashing away along with Erebus.

We were left alone in the throne room with a man who was once our friend, and was now our enemy.

He was their slave now. He would stop at nothing to slaughter us.

I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. Why were the Fates so cruel?

Without a brain, memories can't exist. Of course he wouldn't recognize someone he can't remember.

"Don't do this, Lysias," I pleaded desperately.

I hated to see him like this, not a single bit of recognition shining in his dark eyes. Which was actually really difficult to see thanks to that annoying hood he's always wearing.

But he didn't respond. His face remained impassive. He simply took a step toward us robotically.

"We're your friends! Fight their command! Please," Katie whispered the last word brokenly.

But there was no reaction once again.

He was now just a fighting, killing machine. He didn't deserve any of this. He didn't deserve this heartbreaking fate.

Everyone has the right to choose the life they want to live. So why couldn't Lysias?

The impending war had never seemed so real to me until now. Whether or not Lysias killed us, the war was going to commence anytime soon. Especially now that Tartarus and Erebus had an obedient minion.

"We have to run. That's not Lysias anymore. We can't just stand here," Nico urged, pushing open the doors of the throne room, ushering us to get out.

I turned to look at Lysias one last time as he unsheathed a black, wicked sword.

A single tear escaped from my eye as I looked away from him and ran from the friend I had lost.

Lysias was lost in darkness.

The question is, would we be able to get him back?

 **Task of the Day:** **This chapter's task is actually really simple. Just go ahead and post any question that's been bugging you. If you don't have a question, you can request a specific POV for the next chapter or just make any suggestions in general. Also, have any of you ever wondered how old I am? Leave a quick guess in the reviews.**

 **Moving on to reviews!**

irene2005: Loved it. Though... Lysias LET PERCY FREEEEEE. Other than that, great chapter!

 **I sent you a private message. (Just letting you know.) Anyway, what do you mean by "LET PERCY FREE"? Are you referring to his identity? 'Cause I'm confused... Either way, thanks for the review! :)**

Matt: I thought Calypso was Leo's girlfriend, not Katie?

 **You're right. I just like picturing Katie as a feisty girl. Katie and Leo aren't dating though. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for reading you awesome dude! :)**

CandyK1ng24: You are an evil evil person. You better update in two days. I can't wait another month! Please!

 **Yeah, sorry about that. Wasn't my fault I had finals. Hope you understand. Did this chapter at least make up for it...? *crosses fingers***

Guest: Please update this story it is so good

 **Thanks for the compliment! You're so kind! I appreciate it. :)**

huffelpuff0903: This story is AMAZING I LOVE IT. I wonder how Katie I going to reach to "Percy" being dead and also who is the person that told Athena is isn't Hades that's for sure he wouldn't do that so who was it... any way your an amazing writer keep up the good work and update soon!

 **If you're reading this, you already found out how Katie reacted. Was the reaction disappointing? (I hope not.) You're right, it wasn't Hades. Here's a hint for you. The person's female. Sorry, can't tell you who it is until the next chapter. Aww, thanks! You sure know how to brighten up my day! :)**

Death Fury: nicely done

 **Thanks for the support! You're still an awesome friend. :)**

azhou1: Wow... Wow... Wow... Lysias for the win! Woooooo!

 **Same. But sadly, this chapter just made Lysias's life even worse. Sorry about that.**

JadenCage: Bomshell drop and the goddess of wisdom cant tell anyone

 **Very true. And secrets just make everything more suspenseful.**

Thanks for reading chapter 12, you wonderful people! I've always wondered what I should call you guys. Should I call you Streakers or something like that? 'Cause I'm honestly horrible with nicknames. Anyway, please leave a review 'cause they always make my heart explode with happiness. Thanks for everything. Love you all! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


	14. Revealing Reality

**I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm really sorry for not updating. I hope I can make up for it with this chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Revealing Reality

 **Percy/Lysias's POV**

"STYX! Everybody scatter!" I cried out in surprise as Tartarus's presence drew nearer until he popped into existence behind me.

A pair of rough hands wrapped around my neck in a chokehold.

I struggled to breathe as my air pathways were blocked.

"You will come with me boy and you will learn how to obey. Say goodbye to your _friend_ , demigods!"

With wide eyes, I let out a strangled yelp as Tartarus forcefully melted us away into the shadows.

We reappeared in the throne room where an operation table with straps was waiting for me.

"Um, what's-?" I began to ask before I was roughly lifted from the ground and thrown onto the cold metal table.

I struggled against the brute force of Tartarus, but I was no match for a Primordial god. I lost the small battle against him.

My wrists and legs were strapped to the table, securing me in place.

This obviously wasn't going to be a good thing for me.

I had an uncanny feeling that something very wrong was about to happen. I really didn't want to know what was in store for me though.

I did the only thing I could while strapped to a table.

I simply glared. Sure, glaring wouldn't incinerate the guy, no matter how much I wanted that to happen. But there's nothing better than showing someone how much you hate them.

So I gave Tartarus the best glare I could muster. And even though I couldn't see my glare, if looks could kill, Tartarus would've been dead right now.

I sadly didn't get the satisfaction of making Tartarus flinch though.

Instead, he gave me a cold, steely stare before his hands removed my hood, my face no longer shrouded in shadows.

He then placed his hands on both sides of my head.

Power oozed from his fingers and my scalp began to tingle.

Something inside my head began to push against my skull. Whatever it was, it was trying to escape.

But what could possibly-?

The strange feeling was freaking me out. I wanted this to end. Maybe I could use my status as his son to my advantage…

Let's hope this works.

"Father, stop!"

"I'm not your father, _boy_. And you're no son of mine. You're a disgrace, just like Damasen. Just a bunch of disappointments," Tartarus spat in disgust.

Damasen…

 _Damasen_.

The name rang a bell. Something about it seemed a little too familiar…

It was at the tip of my tongue, but my thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of something being pulled from my head.

What the heck was-?

 _Oh…_

I was stupid enough to not realize it earlier.

 _'Thalia, are you still in there?'_

 _'Of course. Why wouldn't I be? What's going on?'_

 _'Listen to me. There's no time to explain anything, so don't ask me questions. I want you to get out of my brain. But whatever you do, don't get out of my body. Just get away from my brain_ now _!'_

I felt a weird mental sensation, as if Thalia was nodding her head, which she probably was.

Then I felt a presence leave, making my head feel strangely empty.

I mentally sighed in relief. Hopefully, Tartarus wouldn't sense her spirit within me.

I knew Tartarus was very powerful, but boy had I underestimated him.

I realized that he was somehow slipping my brain out from my head, as gross as that sounds.

I had no idea how he was doing it. Did he make a hole appear where he could pull it out from?

I had so many questions that would probably never be answered.

The more Tartarus pulled, the more I seemed to lose myself. Was this his way of killing me? 'Cause one cannot live without a brain, right?

I was beginning to forget who I was. My ability to think was fogging up. Everything was becoming cloudy and fuzzy.

My heart was racing and my cold palms were sweating. My body began to slightly shiver even though the temperature of the room was nowhere near cold.

Tartarus was nearly done removing my brain. I tried to grasp memories and bits of information, but they simply slipped away.

Was it just me, or was the room getting darker?

 _'I don't like this one bit, but just hold yourself together dude!'_

 _'Huh...? Who are you?'_

 _'Oh no. You already forgot about me. I hope I can save you, hero.'_

My mental conversation with the female stranger was interrupted by a loud _pop_ as my brain was finally squeezed out from my head.

And my consciousness completely vanished because of its absence.

A strange pressure in my chest suddenly surprised me. It was as if something, or maybe even _someone_ , had merged with my heart…

That was the final sensation I felt before black spots appeared at the edges of my vision and the world faded into pure darkness.

And I was no more.

* * *

 **Nico's POV**

"Why are we headed toward the Mansion of Night if Nyx is female? I mean, the prophecy clearly states, 'The parallel Primordial of Chaos lies below, And _His_ power will begin to grow.' The Primordial is obviously male because of the pronoun 'his.' Why aren't we searching for-?" Annabeth ranted before she was cut off by the irritated daughter of Demeter.

"Annabeth, do you _ever_ shut up? We're not stupid, you know," Katie snapped fiercely.

"OOOHH! In your face you annoying blonde!" Leo chimed in.

Annabeth turned red from embarrassment. She looked like she wanted to outsmart us all verbally, but I guess she realized she was outnumbered.

And she knew that none of us liked her anymore. We were no longer her friends.

I felt like I should have told her something rude as well, but I decided against it. Someone like her wasn't worth my time.

"Listen Annabeth. Nyx is our best option at the moment 'cause she might know who the Primordial is. We obviously can't ask Tartarus and Erebus for help. And she _is_ a child of Chaos," I explained so that she could stop bombarding everyone with questions.

Annabeth seemed satisfied with my answer, if her silence was any indication.

Or maybe Katie's comment had gravely damaged her pride.

Either way, I seriously didn't care.

The unlikable blonde led the way, which I found annoying 'cause no one put her in charge.

"Just a warning guys. When we get there, remember to keep your eyes closed. No mortal eyes can handle looking at the horrors of the mansion," Annabeth stiffly explained.

The tension in the air was obviously making her uncomfortable.

Before long, the mansion loomed above our heads. The ominous structure engulfed us in its shadow, towering over us.

"Soooo... what's the plan?" Leo asked to intentionally break the silence.

Annabeth practically pounced on the opportunity to strategize.

"Great question. How about we hold hands to avoid losing each other? And whoever leads the way must run as fast as they can. We don't want to stay in one spot for too long. They must also rely on their other senses because we can't always depend on sight when we're in there. Now, who wants to lead the way?" Annabeth questioned while making eye contact with all three of us.

But before anyone had the chance to volunteer, the temperature dropped drastically.

It was as if a Hyperborean giant had exhaled its icy breath in my face.

"Well, isn't this wonderful? Just the demigods I was expecting," A spine-chilling voice boomed from the entrance of the mansion, nearly making me jump out of my skin as I realized the voice belonged to none other than Nyx herself.

I slowly turned around to come face to face with the Primordial, who was the very definition of pure darkness. Her presence seemed to draw in the shadows around her. Black, smoky wings sprung from her back.

Cautiously, I dropped onto a knee and bowed respectfully.

If I could avoid getting on the nerves of a Primordial, that would be perfect.

The others wisely followed my example, except Annabeth, who seemed hesitant to do so, but eventually yielded.

"You may rise, demigods."

We did as instructed, my eyes briefly glancing at Nyx's eyes, which shone like quasars.

But what if her eyes revealed your worst nightmares instead?

The thought made me shudder. I wouldn't be able to sleep for days with the constant images of cornfields. Or worse yet, Will forbidding me from buying Happy Meals.

"I know why you're here, and I will offer my help. Even though I don't like all of you. I'm looking at you wisdom spawn," Nyx glared pointedly at Annabeth.

Annabeth tried to look as innocent as possible but failed miserably.

"With all due respect, Lady Nyx, why are you going to help us? What's in it for you? What's the catch?" Katie asked suspiciously.

Smart girl.

"I may not like demigods very much, but I'd rather not fade. You see, if Chaos fades, all life as we know it will stop existing as well, which includes me," Nyx explained before motioning us to follow her.

Glancing at the others, I shrugged my shoulders before pursuing the Night goddess. The others hesitantly joined me as well.

Nyx led us to a desolate cliff where she proceeded to sit down. I sat across from her, the others settling down on the sides to form a circle.

"Let's get down to business. Are you aware of our quest's prophecy?" Katie sternly asked, no traces of playfulness on her face.

Normally, Annabeth would've been the one to fire the question, but even Nyx disliked her as much as we did. Annabeth obviously noticed this, wisely keeping her mouth shut.

"Of course. I am the mother of the Fates, my dear girl," Nyx replied with a tone of maternal pride in her voice.

"Great! Do you know who the parallel Primordial of Chaos from the prophecy is?" Katie perked up with a certain gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, he is one of my ancient brothers. In fact, he is possibly trapped within this Pit at this _very_ moment."

"Perfect! Who is it? Erebus or Tartarus?" Katie continued to press for answers.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Here's the thing: the identity of the parallel Primordial of Chaos has been unknown for several millennia. It is one of my brothers for certain, I just don't know which one. The only known fact about him is that he accidentally crashlanded onto Earth shortly after his birth, sailing straight through the ground until he reached Tartarus. It is believed that he is still lurking down here somewhere," Nyx ominously whispered, as if she were telling us a scary campfire story.

"If the Pit existed before the Primordial's birth, then Tartarus is clearly no longer an option. That only leaves us with Erebus. We _have_ to convince him to reunite with Chaos," Annabeth whispered before a fire seemed to ignite in her eyes.

"Looking for Erebus would be suicide... I love it! Let's go!" A mischievous grin split Leo's face.

That kid was always looking for trouble.

"Wait. Lady Nyx, is there anything else we should know?" Katie turned to her once more for an answer.

"Yes, just two more things. It's still possible to save Lysias. It's not too late yet. All you need to do is focus on his soul. Oh, and before I forget, my brothers deceived you, Leo. Percy Jackson is still alive. Not everyone is who they seem to be," Nyx revealed, sending a knowing look toward Leo.

Leo was caught off guard, looking like someone had just told him his entire life was an illusion.

"I know you're a Primordial goddess, but how do you know all this?" Annabeth spoke up, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"I live here, don't I? I generally keep an eye out on what happens around here. And Percy Jackson is closer than you think. Good luck, demigods."

I shielded my eyes as the goddess vanished in a flash of darkness.

"Come on. We can't waste much more time. Let's go find Erebus... _again_ ," Katie huffed out in annoyance before turning on her heel and marching off toward the palace in the gloomy distance.

She had only taken a few steps before a dark blade appeared at her throat, threatening to kill her.

Lysias.

* * *

 **Athena's POV**

"Impossible! You lie!" I accused, unwilling to believe such an atrocity.

"Are you or are you not the wisdom goddess? Hmm, Athena?" Mnemosyne raised an eyebrow in question.

I could feel my face flush, the ichor rushing up to my face in anger.

"Of course I am! But this seems too unlikely to be true. Percy Jackson is a loyal hero, even though I hate to admit it," I exclaimed with incredulity.

"The other day, as I was searching through his mind, what little memories he had left revealed his identity. I came to inform you so that you could find some sort of solution. Can you save the boy? Can I trust you to figure something out?" Mnemosyne asked with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Yes, I will not fail you. But in order to deal with the present, I must revert to the past. It all started on the day of his banishment."

 **Challenge of the Day: Interpret Nyx's revelations about how to save Lysias as best you can. Leave a quick theory in the reviews.**

 **Moving on to reviews! (I didn't include reviews that I personally replied to through private messages.)**

Death Fury: Very good, well I did not see that coming...

 **Not even I saw it coming. I hadn't originally planned it. The idea just popped out of nowhere. XD**

SGT. Frost: Good job just like always great writing style and in-depth characters

 **Thanks, my friend! My writing style's not _that_ great, but you just made my day with that compliment! :)**

huffelpuff0903: Yass you updated you still manage to make this an amazing experience every time I read it. it's so good. anyway question why has "Percy" not taken off his hood yet or has he but his appearance has been altered that's something that's really been bugging me for a while because 8 would think that if "Percy" took off his hoodie even if he face was unrecognizable after so long his eyes wouldn't have changed. anyway keep up the good work your doing an amazhang job

 **You're so sweet! Thank you! "Percy" hasn't removed his hood because his masters ordered him not to under any circumstances. His appearance is slightly altered though because he was blessed by Tartarus and Erebus. I'll do my best. I appreciate your review! :)**

Thank you so much for reading this chapter my Blue Cookies! I think that's my new nickname for you wonderful readers. As always, please leave a review because I love to hear your opinions! Thank you for being _extremely_ patient with me. Sorry for keeping you all waiting for such a long time. (Please don't kill me.) I love you all though! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak


End file.
